Possession
by Little Sakura-chan
Summary: AU: Set in the year 2035, Battousai is the leader of the top crime organization with the National Japanese Allied Armed Forces hot on his heels and Kaoru is the top weapons and arms specialist at NJAAF kidnapped by Battousai.
1. Part I

**Beginning Note:** Okay, so this is my first AU fic. Please be kind and it's much darker than I normally write. Please enjoy!

**Disclaimer:**I do not own RuroKen. I wish I did, but I don't. Please enjoy the workings of my dark, sordid mind!

**_Possession: Part I_**

Calloused hands gripped raven hair tightly, amber eyes burning hotly in the dark. His katana flashed dangerously against an elegant, pale white neck.

"Tell me," his harsh voice rasped.

"No," came the spat response, still strong after hours of physical and metal abuse. The young woman had yet to be broken.

The demon with bright red hair pushed the sharp edge of his steel blade closer to his captive's milky skin.

"You will tell me how your father knew where the arms were being shipped to. You know, Kamiya."

The teenage worked up enough spit in her dry mouth to lob it in the angry man's face.

"Fuck off, Battousai," she snapped.

Battousai slowly removed his katana away from her, making sure to leave a long, shallow cut across her neck. Taking a deep breath, he backhanded the defiant girl across the face with force. He smiled as cried out in pain. It grew wider as she spit a molar out onto the plank wood floor.

"All this will go much easier if you tell me how your father knew. I know you don't have a spy within my organization," Battousai said silkily. "They know better than that."

"What loyal little lackeys you have, Battousai."

"You're one to talk," the older man said, picking up a thick manila folder. "Kamiya Kaoru, age seventeen, born June 18, 2018. Expert in Kamiya Kasshin Ryu and a certified weapons and arms specialist for the National Japanese Allied Armed Forces. You work for Daddy. Talk about a loyal little lackey."

"Shut up!" Kaoru shouted, struggling against the chains that shackled her to the wall.

Battousai continued to re-read the woman's file for the twentieth time. From behind his thick, red bangs, he observed her with his liquid fire eyes. Kamiya was lean and supple with deep blue eyes and long ebony hair. Underneath the bruises and grime, she had pale, unblemished skin laid over wiry muscles. Her chest heaved up and down as she struggled against her bindings, breathing hot and labored. Her dark gray pinstriped skirt suit was ripped and dirty and despite the coppery smell of blood, sweat, and fear, Kamiya smelled like jasmine and cinnamon.

"You're the NJAAF's top weapons and arms specialist," the demon said, pulling up a chair and sitting right in front of her. "There's no way you're not involved with the seizure of my weapons. I will find out whether it be of your own free will or not."

Kaoru glared at Battousai with hate-filled eyes.

"Even if I knew how Director Kamiya found out about the weapons shipment, you would be the last person I'd tell."

"Oh, Director Kamiya?" he commented. "Not 'Daddy.'"

"He is my boss first and foremost," Kaoru said, parroting the words of her father, who had become cold and callous after she joined the NJAAF at age eleven. "And I will not betray him or the NJAAF."

"Heroic," Battousai mused, pulling a switchblade out of his pant's pocket and playing with it. "But useless. Even if you don't tell me, someone else will."

The young women let out a harsh laugh. "Ha! That will never happen. No one would do something like that at NJAAF."

"Oh, you'd be surprised at how loose a tongue gets at the sight of a large amount of money," the organization leader stated, flicking the blade with a neatly trimmed fingernail. "You're idealism is amusing."

"Liar!"

"Believe what you wish," was the offhanded reply. The knife clicked open and shut, the sound grating on Kaoru's delicate eardrums. "Now. How did the NJAAF know?"

She clamped her mouth shut and glared at the monster dressed in Armani before her. His expensive white shirt was flecked with her blood and his steel katana sat gleaming on the cheap pine table in the room. Yet he stood there, completely unfazed.

Battousai gave an exaggerated sigh and leaned closer to her. "It's such a shame that you are so beautiful, Kamiya." He slowly brought the switchblade up so its point rested against her cheek. "It would pain me a lot less if you weren't."

Kaoru closed her eyes and thanked God for the short life that she had. It hasn't been a bad life, albeit a tough one.

The pain she expected never came. Instead, there was a sharp knock on the rough door.

"Himura-sama," came a voice on the other side of the door. "The new shipment is here."

Battousai, better know as Himura Kenshin to his organization, gave an internal sigh. His interrogation was just about to get interesting, but this new shipment was important since the NJAAF has seized the old one.

"Thank your lucky stars," he advised Kaoru. "Because you were just spared for the night."

"Oh, gee. How kind of you," she sneered.

"Sweet dreams," Kenshin cooed, thinking rapidly as he shut the door.

He had to find a way to break this girl before her father seized another weapons shipment. It was vital. He wondered if the grizzled man would pay a ransom for his only child. He knew that the NJAAF had a strict policy to not deal and negotiate with terrorists, like the United States had during their Iraq/Afghanistan War. Plus, with what the Kamiya girl had said, he doubted that the NJAAF's director would hand over the money. Maybe his daughter's hand left on his doorstep would make him move. But that would be a shame since she had such lovely hands.

Whatever Kenshin decided to do, it had be to soon.

o-o-o-o-o

A coffee mug smashed with a loud 'crack' as a large man in a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up hurled it against the wall.

"Breaking things won't bring her back," said an ice-blue eyed man, who was a few years older than the mug thrower.

"Aoshi-sama is right, Sagara-san," piped a short, dark-haired girl. "I'm sure Kaoru-san can take care of herself."

The tall man whirled around to glare at her. "I don't doubt that she can take care of herself, but this isn't some gun runner thug! This is the Battousai, Misao. I highly doubt Kaoru is in pristine condition!"

"Destroying your office doesn't do you any good," Aoshi said, adjusting his thin, black tie. "Sanosuke, I know this is hard, but it's a product of being a part of the NJAAF. You knew that when you joined, as does Kaoru. We all do." He gestured to the other NJAAF agents and specialists in the room, who nodded.

"I don't want another Megumi," Sanosuke said, slumping against a wall and running a hand through messy brown hair.

Everyone in the room sobered. Takani Megumi had been the NJAAF's chief medical advisor until two years ago. She had been kidnapped from her Tokyo apartment and tortured for information about drug running and shipments before being killed and dumped on the stairs of the main NJAAF building. Kaoru and Sanosuke had taken it the hardest since they had been the closest with the cinnamon-eyed doctor. It didn't help that they were the ones who had found her body as they came into work together.

"Kaoru-san's stronger," came a quiet, even voice from the corner.

The slight, blue-eyed young man who has spoken pushed himself off the wall he was leaning on. Seta Soujirou was the newest member of the team the Kaoru and Sanosuke were part of and headed. He had only been with the NJAAF for a few months before Megumi was murdered.

"You barely knew Megumi, Seta," growled Sanosuke, eyes flashing dangerously.

Soujirou smiled politely and held up his hand. "I didn't mean she wasn't strong, Sagara-san. She just didn't have the same strength that Kaoru-san has," he explained. "Kaoru-san will come out of this okay."

Sanosuke's face softened. "I sure hope you're right, Seta," he said quietly.

The group jumped as the door to Sanosuke's office slammed open to reveal an angry man with a salt and pepper mustache and pitch colored hair.

"What the hell is going on here?" demanded the man, crossing his arms.

"We were just discussing the matter of Kaoru-san's kidnapping, Director Kamiya," Soujirou said when no one was able to come up with an answer.

Kamiya Kentarou glared at everyone, causing even the normally unfazed Aoshi to flinch.

"What about Kamiya-san being kidnapped?" Kentarou asked.

'Miserable bastard,' Sanosuke thought disgustedly. Out loud he said, "We know she was taken by Battousai. If you'd let me lead a team to fin– "

He was cut off. "Kamiya-san is just like any other NJAAF agent, Sagara. And you need to put your damn personal feelings aside."

The spiky-haired man gave him a startled look.

"I'm not stupid, Sagara. She comes in with you most mornings and she doesn't sleep at home often. So if you were trying to keep the fact that you're fucking my daughter a secret, you did a shitty job. And your request is denied. We are not risking other NJAAF agents for her stupidity."

"But, sir," Misao said quickly. "Kaoru didn't do anything stupid."

"You of all people should know that, Director Kamiya," Aoshi said, keeping an eye on the angry teenager across from him. Sanosuke was flushed with anger and embarrassment and his fists were clenched so tightly that his knuckles were white against his tanned skin. "You are the one who taught her all she knows."

"Shouldn't you two be back in the Undercover Intelligence sector?" Kentarou asked, voice tight.

"Yes, sir," chorused Misao and Aoshi.

"And you," he said, turning to Soujirou, who smiled innocently at him. "You should be with the Special Operational Forces. You have a job tonight, Seta."

"Yes, Director Kamiya," the young man said, getting to his feet lightly and adjusting his blue shirt's cuffs.

"All of you move it," he snapped, heading towards the door. As he crossed the threshold into the hallway, he turned and stared at Sanosuke. "If you can't pull yourself together, then go home. Take a day, but if you come back and act like this again, you will be out of here so fast your head will spin."

"Thank you, sir," Sanosuke said, anger leaving his body in a rush. He sat down in his leather desk chair, exhausted.

"We better get back before the UIA realized their best agents are missing," Aoshi said, putting a hand on Sanosuke's shoulder. "Misao and I will stop by your apartment tonight, okay?"

"'Kay."

"I'm really sorry, Sanosuke. This is my fault," Misao said softly, looking down. "If I hadn't been so careless…"

She felt the older man ruffle her hair. "Nah, Misao. It's not your fault. They were just one step ahead this time."

"But not for long," Soujirou said cheerfully from by the door. "We're taking out a few of Battousai's captains tonight. By morning, he'll need to find new people to direct his underlings."

"That's good to hear," Aoshi said. "It'll make it easier to take down the organization. Go home, Sanosuke, and lie down. Just relax for tonight. We'll bring any information we find over."

"Thanks, guys," Sanosuke said, as his three teammates and friends left.

Finally alone, he took a photo album out of his desk drawer and opened it. Inside were pictures of him and Kaoru. It was part of a timeline of the last six years and in the last four, the two had become romantically involved.

When Kaoru had first decided to embark on the scrapbook/photo album adventure, he had grumbled and complained about it. She had just laughed at him as she snapped a picture with one of her many disposable cameras. She hated digital.

_We're recording our life! _she had said as she took another picture of him with his eyes crossed and tongue sticking out. _Don't you want to remember these moments?_

After a few days of endless picture taking and scrapbooking, the first of many albums appeared. Sanosuke even started helping, taking pictures and buying materials when he realized how relaxing it was.

The album he was currently looking at was from their trip to Hawaii a few months earlier, when Kaoru's father was dealing with a problem in Serbia. They had booked their vacation time months in advance at separate times as not to look suspicious, but it didn't stop the rumor mill. Sanosuke wasn't surprised that the NJAAF's director knew about their relationship, just at the way he reacted.

He stared at a picture of Kaoru sitting on the beach in her white bikini, a smile splitting her face. She was waving at the camera, looking the happiest Sanosuke had seen her in a long time.

As he gazed at the face of the person he loved, he felt his throat catch and his eyes pricked with tears.

"Kaoru," he whispered as he doubled over, sobbing with his face in his hands.

o-o-o-o-o

The director of the NJAAF sat in his large office, having a videoconference with the head of the Undercover Intelligence Agency.

"Are you sure that your men haven't seen Kaoru at Battousai's main complex?" he asked.

"I'm positive, Director. Shinomori and Makimachi would have told me," said the head of the UIA.

He hesitated before saying, "Director, I say this as a friend. You can't favor Kaoru because she's your daughter. You didn't do this for Takani Megumi when she was kidnapped."

Kentarou sighed. "I know, Seiji. She's all I have left and I know I've already lost her. She spends all her time with Sagara and her friends. She barely sleeps at home, and when I do see her, we barely speak and when we do, it's professional."

Seiji gave his old friend a look of pity. "I understand that you miss her and want to keep her safe, but she's basically been an adult since age eleven. You knew that risk when she joined the NJAAF."

Kentarou nodded. "If you hear anything, let me know. I won't ask about her again. Keep me updated on the Toshiro case as well."

The other man saluted before signing off. Kentarou stood up and gazed down at the busy Tokyo street, wondering where his only child was being kept and if she was still alive.

**A/N: The first part of **_**Possession**_**. It was originally intended to be a drabble and then it was originally supposed to be a one-shot. I obviously changed my mind. So** **enjoy and I hope you join me for the rest of the story.**


	2. Part II

**Beginning Note:** I just want to thank all who have read _Possession_so far. I hope you are enjoying it. Thanks to all who left me such wonderful reviews and who gave me a little push! It's greatly appreciated. It's been quite a while since I've written an RKstory and I fear that I am out of practice, so please forgive me! Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:**I do not own RuroKen. I wish I did, but I don't. Please enjoy the workings of my dark, sordid mind!

**_Possession: Part II_**

Kaoru was floating in the space between sleep and wakefulness a few hours later. It took her a minute to realize that someone was wiping her face with a soft, wet cloth. Jumping into full alertness, she thrashed violently against the chains that held her captive and proceeded to bang her head against something hard.

"Ow!" came a muffled voice. "What the hell did you do that for, stupid?"

When the stars cleared from her vision, Kaoru saw a young boy with messy dark brown hair and chocolate brown eyes rubbing his forehead, a frown cutting across his face.

"Who are you?" she demanded, shocked at the age of the boy. He couldn't have been older than ten.

"None of your business, Kamiya," he said, dipping the cloth into a bucket of water.

"You obviously know who I am, and it's rude not to introduce yourself."

The boy rolled his eyes. "If you haven't noticed, you're not really in the position to be giving lessons on manners," he said, wiping more blood off her cheek.

"You're a child and no where near as intimidating as Battousai," Kaoru said wincing as the boy hit a particularly deep cut.

"I am not a child!" he cried angrily, while keeping his hands gentle and steady. "What do you know? Kenshin will get what he needs from you and then he'll dispose of you like he should."

"You're too young to be so used to and so cynical about death," Kaoru said softly, her eyes pools of sadness. "Life must have dealt you quite a blow for you to be like this."

"Yahiko," came the boy's quiet voice.

"What?"

"Myojin Yahiko. My name is Yahiko."

A smile crept onto Kaoru's face. "See. Was that so hard, Yahiko?"

Yahiko colored. "I guess not," he muttered, wiping the last of the grime off the older girl's face. He pulled a dark bottle from the first aid kit beside him. "Open your mouth."

"Why?"

"It's saltwater to clean out the blood from your molar," he explained. "Trust me. It works wonders."

She obeyed, praying that she wasn't about to be poisoned and he poured the nasty tasting liquid into her mouth. Kaoru nearly gagged, but after spitting the saltwater into a bucket, her mouth felt cleaner and no longer tasted coppery.

"So, how did you come to work for the Battousai?" she asked feeling uncharacteristically chatty as she watched him pack up the first aid kit and dump the bloody water down the sink that was in the corner.

"He has a real name, you know," Yahiko pointed out.

"I know that," Kaoru told the boy. "I _am_ a weapons and arms specialist with the National Japanese Allied Armed Forces, as you well know I'm sure. Battousai's file is sitting on my desk at NJAAF's main building right now."

Yahiko looked at her, unfazed.

"That's if Sanosuke didn't take it," she said to out loud to herself, scrunching up her nose and blowing her bangs out of her face with a sigh.

"Oh yeah?" the young boy challenged. "What's 'Battousai's' real name and how old is he?"

"His original name is actually Shinta, but when he arrived in Kyoto at age eight and Tokyo at fourteen, he went by the name Himura Kenshin. He still goes by that name as well as several others. And he's twenty eight."

The sound of clapping from the shadows caused the two to jump. A figure emerged from the gloom.

"You've done your homework well," said Kenshin, eyes glowing golden in the dark. "I'm impressed, Kamiya."

Yahiko jumped to his feet in a panic . "I'm sorry, Kenshin. I didn't mean to talk to her, but it just kind of happened."

Before Kenshin could say anything, Kaoru cut in. "I was the one who started talking to him. If you do anything to hurt him, I swear you'll regret it."

"I don't need to be babied!" snapped Yahiko.

Kenshin held up a hand and the child fell silent. "Your fire is admirable, but quite unnecessary," he told Kaoru, fishing a small, silver key out of his jacket pocket. "I have no intention of hurting Yahiko."

Blue eyes narrowed. "Yeah right, Battousai."

The red headed man sighed. "Obviously Battousai isn't my name. You just proved that you know it. I use your name, so it's only fair that you be polite and use mine. Himura. It's not difficult to say. HI-MU-RA," he intoned sarcastically.

"Over my dead body," the girl snapped, regaining the spunk that made her so desirable to catch in the first place.

"While that can easily be arranged," the crime lord said casually, examining the key. "I still need you, even though I'd love to dump you still warm and bleeding body on your father's or Sagara Sanosuke's front step."

"Fuck you!" she screamed, lunging forward while Kenshin laughed. Yahiko stood there silently, used to his mentor's harsh tactics for obtaining information.

"Fortunately for you," Kenshin continued as he approached Kaoru, who fought wildly against her chains and was screaming obscecities at him. He was rather impressed by the mouth she had on her. "I have other plans in mind."

He waited patiently for her to stop moving around so much. After a few minutes of thrashing, he grew frustrated and pulled his katana off the table, placing its sharp edge against her neck again. The girl stilled immediately.

"That's better," he said, unlocking the shackled around her ankles first. "Now, I'm going to unlock your wrists. You will be very sorry indeed if you try to take a swing or something like that. Got it?"

Understanding her danger, she nodded. She figured if she cooperated, her chances of escaping or being released fairly unscathed were high.

"Good," Kenshin said, unlocking her wrist restraints. The chains hit the wall with a loud 'clank.'

Kaoru took a step, gingerly testing her weight on her tired and weak legs. Hours of hanging from the chains had caused her legs to fall asleep. She pitched forward as they gave out beneath her and she saw the wood floor fly towards her. She braced herself for the impact, but was jarred as strong arms caught her. She found her face inches from Battousai's. Kaoru struggled to breath as she stared into his deep amber eyes. Battousai set her on her feet, where she swayed slightly. She was relieved that he was no longer staring at her.

"I don't think she'll be able to stand, Kenshin," commented Yahiko. "Or walk for that matter."

Kenshin groaned slightly. Keeping the Kamiya girl was going to be a nuisance that he didn't need. He was too busy running his organization to baby-sit a teenager, even if she was a weapons specialist and extremely valuable as a hostage.

"Is the room ready?" he asked Yahiko tiredly, ignoring the boy's statement. He noticed Kaoru stiffen. She was scared. Good. It was always beneficial to keep a hostage off kilter.

"Yep. Everything is laid out and ready for her."

"You," Kenshin said, pointing at Kaoru. "Try to walk again. I'd rather not have to carry you."

"I wouldn't let you carry me if I were dying and you were the last person in the world with arms," she snapped, leaning against rough wood wall, breathing heavily.

"Then try walking."

Kaoru tried, her legs shaking under her. She ground her teeth together as pain shot straight from her feet to her skull with each tentative step. The pins and needles in her legs made it feel like she was walking on knives. Unable to watch the older girl struggle, Yahiko moved to her side.

"Let me help you, Kamiya. You can barely walk."

She pushed his hands off her arm.

"I will not give him the satisfaction of seeing someone helping me," Kaoru said, tiny lines appearing at her eyes because of the pain. "I can make it to this room."

"You're going to run out of wall eventually," Kenshin said pointedly, opening the door that led outside.

"And your point is?"

"You are possibly the most pigheaded girl I've met in my entire life," mused Yahiko, watching the NJAAF agent slowly make her way to the door.

"That makes me the best at what I do. I'm not a top specialist because of my father."

"Commendable," Kenshin, looking bored.

Kaoru glared at him, who merely stared back at her.

"You are quite determined, Kamiya. I'm rather impressed," Kenshin said, watching the girl's progress with a calculated eye. "Lesser women would have fallen by now."

The teenager just gritted her teeth and tried to ignore the older man. Her goal was the open door and she refused to be deterred by an irritating psychopath.

"You're very much like that doctor."

For the first time, Kaoru stumbled and fell, skinning her knees and the heels of her palms. She stared up at her captor with large azure eyes.

"What?"

"Takani Megumi," Kenshin said, brushing imaginary lint from his suit jacket sleeve. "She refused to have someone help her walk too. You must have learned your stubbornness from her. But unlike you, she wasn't feisty, just proud."

"Stop it," the girl whispered.

The red headed man ignored the NJAAF agent sprawled at his feet. "That didn't last long once she realized that she was headed to die. Then she started to cry and beg for her life."

"Stop it!" Kaoru shrieked, clamping her battered hands over her ears. "Shut up!"

The demon squatted so that his face was level with Kaoru's tear streaked one. "But you aren't like that, are you, Kamiya?" he whispered, stroking the teenager's hair once before gripping it tightly in his fist. He wretched her head back so that she could stare straight at him and a stray tear leaked from her eye. "No. You are stronger than that doctor. Even as I lay my blade across your neck, I know you won't cry or beg for your life. You'll just pray and apologize to that Sagara idiot for not being strong enough."

"Stop."

Kenshin released his hold on Kaoru's hair and stared at Yahiko. The boy's face was contorted with pain.

"Please, Kenshin," he begged. "She's been beaten into submission. It is necessary to do _this_ to her?"

A red eyebrow raised as Kenshin observed his younger companion. It was rare for him to interfere with interrogations, and rarer still for him to beg for Kenshin to stop. There was something about this girl that altered the boy's thinking.

"Is it so wrong to love?" Yahiko asked, watching Kaoru hugging herself as she sobbed. "Is it so wrong to say you're sorry for not being strong enough?"

Kenshin shut his eyes, but not before the younger man saw the pain and regret lingering there. The red head ran the tips of his calloused fingers over his scarred cheek briefly, lost in a memory of white plum perfume, a soft brown gaze, and silken black hair. When Kenshin opened his eyes again, they flashed coldly at the crying young women in front of him.

"Stop that bawling," he ordered, grabbing her arm with force and pulling her to her feet.

He waited a few seconds for her to get a hold of herself and when she did, he began to lead her towards the door, Yahiko following silently behind. Kenshin narrowed his eyes as Kaoru wrenched her arm out of his grip.

"My patience is wearing dangerously thin," he growled, his tone tight and dangerous.

"I don't need your help," Kaoru snapped, voice thick with tears. "It's the last thing I want right now."

"You are treading in some deadly waters, Kamiya," Kenshin warned. "If you want to live to see Daddy and Sagara again, I suggest you shut the hell up right now."

Kaoru scowled fiercely and thrust her nose in the air as she slowly and painstakingly made her way to the outside world. She signed with relief as she smelled the fresh air and not the stink of blood and iron and rotting wood. Out here it smelled like wet dirt and pine trees and the breeze cooled her hot skin. Her eyes roved, taking in her surroundings and she calculated her chances of escape. Her hopes fell as saw armed guards with dogs roving all over the vast complex.

Before her, an enormous house, if it could even be called that, rose like a titan before her and she couldn't help but be impressed. She and Sanosuke could barely afford the rent on their small, one bedroom apartment in one of the shadiest parts of Tokyo on their salaries despite being specialists in their respective fields. Obviously being a crime lord was much more profitable. Kaoru wondered if this was Battousai's second complex that the NJAAF has been trying to find for the last year and a half. If it was, she was screwed.

It took her a few seconds to realize that her captor had been speaking to her.

"What?"

Kenshin barely suppressed the urge to roll his eyes at the exasperating teenager. This was going to be much more work than he had initially thought.

"I dislike having to repeat myself," he said with forced patience. "So from now on, you will listen when I talk so I don't have to say it twice."

Kaoru narrowed her intense blue eyes. "I'm not one of your lackeys, Battousai. I don't take orders from you."

It was Kenshin's turn to narrow his eyes and he leaned close to her face. "You'd better start if you plan on surviving," he said smugly. "You don't have a choice. If I have to repeat any order or question, you will be a very sorry person indeed."

Kaoru shot Kenshin a look that could peel industrial paint off a bridge. It was a look that promised pain and anger.

"Do we understand each other, Kamiya?"

"Perfectly,"" she ground out between clenched teeth.

"Good. Now follow me and don't fall behind because I will not wait for you and you'll be at the mercy of my men. And frankly, they don't like NJAAF agents. Even ones as pretty as you." He started up the expansive driveway.

"Lovely," Kaoru muttered and slowly made her way after Kenshin towards the house that loomed in front of her like a dark promise.

**A/N: Here is the second installment of **_**Possession**_**. I hope you are enjoying it. Please forgive any mistakes. I edit my own work and things do sometimes slip through. I love feedback so please comment! Thanks and enjoy!**


	3. Part III

**Beginning Note:** Hopefully this part of the story gives more insight into Sanosuke. I hope to convey how much he loves Kaoru. Please, for those of you who don't like the KxS pairing, it just for the purposes of the story, though it is a secret pleasure of mine. Shhhhhh. Don't tell anyone! Though I'm very much a KxK fan. Enjoy! Please read and review!

**Disclaimer:**I do not own RuroKen. I wish I did, but I don't. Please enjoy the workings of my dark, sordid mind!

**Possession: Part III**

Makimachi Misao rubbed her eyes, trying to read the blurry print on her desktop's screen. The pressure that was built up at the back of her neck and under her temples threatening to develop into a full-blown headache was unbearable, but the information she found was extremely important. She squinted and leaned closer to the glowing screen.

"You're going to need glasses if you do that."

The young woman started slightly.

"Aoshi-sama!" she exclaimed, placing her hand over her racing heart. "You scared the crap out of me!""

"I taught you better than that," the older man said, tapping her on the head gently with a knuckle. "You usually know when someone is behind you. A careless spy – "

"Is a dead spy," Misao finished, leaning back in her chair to stare at her lover. "I know. But I'm so damn tired." She shifted her focus back to the computer screen. "I've been going through a lot of the stuff about Battousai that the NJAAF has collected over the last ten years."

"Anything good?" Aoshi asked, peering over her shoulder.

"Are you kidding? The UIA archive is a gold mine!" she said, voice eager. "We have great information to show Sagara-san."

The dark haired man smiled lovingly at her as her fingers flew over the keyboard, still searching files.

"Are we going to think of a way to get this information to Sanosuke without getting caught?" he asked, voice low as not to alert their superiors of misconduct.

Misao stifled a giggle. Aoshi was an amazing spy, even before he joined the NJAAF, but he was completely lost when it came to technology. She always had to show him how to use the gadgets the UIA supplied its agents.

"It's called a flash drive. It's like a portable hard drive, but an older model. It stores files and such. Since it's old technology, it's less likely to be tracked by the UIA security system. We're lucky they still even make computers that have USB ports," she said, holding up the small device before sticking it in the computer's USB port. She quickly transferred the UIA's archived files to the flash drive. "Done."

Aoshi leaned over her shoulder, causing butterflies in Misao's stomach. It still happened every time he was close, despite it being three years since they became involved.

"You have to delete the search from the system," he said, tapping a few keys. A box asking if they wanted to permanently delete the search from the system popped up. He clicked okay and Misao let out a breath that she didn't realize she was holding.

"Damn, that's more nerve wracking that I thought it would be," the teenage spy said, pulling the flash drive out of the USB port. "And how did you know how to do that?"

"Probably because we'd get fired for doing what we just did," Aoshi pointed out. "And Kaoru taught me a few tricks. Apparently she's skilled at wiping searches from the main hard drive."

"I bet. I'm sure she was taught by Tae-san in the software engineering department," Misao said, swiveling her chair so she could face the older man. "She's been doing a lot of research on her mother's murder lately."

"Her mother?"

"Yeah. She was murdered during a car jacking, but Kaoru-san thought there was more to it than a thug just wanting the car since it was still sitting there when the police found the body," she said, crossing her legs and smoothing her skirt. "Kaoru-san believed that Battousai's organization might have been behind it since her mother worked for NJAAF. She's the reason Kaoru-san joined in the first place."

"Hmm," Aoshi hummed softly. "I wonder if Kaoru's digging was the reason she was kidnapped." The teenager shrugged. "Was there any mention of Kaoru's mother in the UIA's files linking her to Battousai?"

Misao nodded. "A few. She worked some of the old Battousai cases. His political assassinations and such. She was part of the Investigative Force."

Aoshi whistled through his teeth. "The IF? Wow."

"I know, right."

"I guess we know where Kaoru gets her determination and balls from. The IF is the hardest department in the NJAAF to get into."

"Yep. Both Kaoru-san and Sagara-san have been working major overtime just to even be considered for the program," she said.

"Sanosuke did mention something now that I think about it," Aoshi said, leaning against Misao's small filing cabinet. He watched Misao yawn and stretch and smiled at her "Ready to go?"

She nodded, standing up and throwing her long braid over her shoulder. "You bet! Can we get something to eat after we give the flash drive to Sagara-san? I haven't eaten since this morning."

Aoshi wrapped an arm around the girl's shoulders. "Of course, my love. How about we go to the deli and pick up a sub? We'll grab one for Sanosuke because God knows he doesn't have food in that apartment of his."

Misao laughed and leaned into the twenty-six year old's embrace. "Whatever you say, darling," she said, standing on her toes to kiss Aoshi on the cheek.

He tugged her arm and they headed towards the parking lot. Aoshi hoped that Sanosuke would be awake and sober when they got to his apartment.

o-o-o-o-o

He was awake and sober, but barely. A half a empty bottle of Jack Daniel's whiskey and an empty bottle of Popov vodka sat on the glass coffee table, next to a crystal shot glass, still full of the amber liquid. Sanosuke sat in a worn tan leather armchair, a photograph held tightly in his hand. The small apartment seemed empty without Kaoru in it and Sanosuke hated being alone there.

He reached for the shot glass as he gazed at the photo in his hand. It was of him and Kaoru from a number of years ago when they were just kids. They were both dressed in shorts and a t-shirt, and they were hugging a large German Shepard whose name, Sarge, was stereotypical for a police dog. Sarge had been Kaoru's mom's dog when she was an investigator for the IF. He was killed on Sanosuke and Kaoru's first joint mission. Kaoru had refused to work with the K-9 Units since then.

"Damn it, Sarge," Sanosuke mumbled, throwing back the shot of whiskey. It burned as it went down his throat. "We fucked up that mission, real bad didn't we? We should have waited for the rest of the other K-9 Units. Strength in numbers and shit like that." He gave a humorless laugh.

The spiky haired man put the picture back onto the table and flipped open the file he had taken off of Kaoru's desk while pouring more whiskey into the tiny glass. He stared at the contents of the file without reading anything. He knew most of the Battousai's information by heart anyway. He would read it tomorrow when he wasn't so tired and wasn't slightly drunk. A sharp knock at the door brought him out of his reverie.

"Go away."

"Sagara-san! It's us!" Misao called. "And we have food."

"Go the fuck away!" he yelled, then realized too late that he forgot to lock the door when he had gotten home. "Shit."

The door swung open to reveal his two friends, Misao carrying a white plastic bag full of food, and Aoshi, looking pissed.

"Drop off what you need and get out," Sanosuke slurred, picking up the refilled shot glass.

Misao put the bag on the coffee table, wrinkling her nose at the strong smell of alcohol. "Yuck. You smell like a bar," she told him.

"Tough luck, babe."

Aoshi looked at the large man with mild disgust. He didn't approve of the other NJAAF agent's way of dealing with Kaoru's kidnapping.

"You can't solve your problems like this, Sanosuke," he said, towering over the sitting man. "You can't fall apart."

Sanosuke glared at the older man. "Don't lecture me, Shinomori."

"What do you think downing a bottle of vodka and whiskey is going to do?" Aoshi demanded. "This isn't the way you should deal with Kaoru's kidnapping. To tell you the truth, you look pathetic and the way you're acting is bullshit."

Misao jumped as the crystal shot glass shattered against the pale green wall, the sharp smell of whiskey permeating the air and the amber liquid staining the white carpet.

"Fuck you, Aoshi!" Sanosuke yelled. "The way I'm acting is pathetic? The woman I love has been kidnapped by the fucking Battousai!" He stabbed a finger in Misao's direction, and she moved closer to the ice blue eyed man's side, frightened by the way the other man was acting. "You know you would fucking do the same if it were fucking Misao who was kidnapped by a fucking psychopath!"

"Drinking just makes you do stupid shit," Aoshi said, staring the other man down. Sanosuke didn't flinch under the icy gaze and stood up.

"Don't start acting like a fucking saint, you goddamned bastard. I can't do anything but fucking sit here with my thumbs up my ass. So forgive me for not finding a more creative outlet for my anger and frustration, you fucker."

Misao stared at Sanosuke with sympathy. This was a man who was completely torn. She felt helpless, so she began picking up the shards of the shattered shot glass.

"You're right, I would probably lose it if something happened to Misao," Aoshi said, sitting down on Sanosuke's couch. "But not soon after I would remember how disappointed she would be at my behavior. I would remember that I am an elite spy at NJAAF with the skills to get her back. You are no different."

Sanosuke deflated, slumping back down in his armchair and a few tears running down his face. "But I'm not you."

"True, but who you are is just as good," said Misao, picking up the last visible piece of glass. "You may not be a spy like Aoshi-sama, but you're an expert in hand-to-hand combat as well as weaponry. Not to mention who you were before joining the NJAAF."

"A thug?"

"No," she said, eyes shining. "Zanza, the pride and joy of the Sekihotai, one of the most influential gangs in Japan. You were one of the most feared and respected people in the Japanese Underground! Yeah, they were pissed when you joined the NJAAF, but look who it made you!"

"Not to mention all the Sekihotai that followed your lead," Aoshi muttered under his breath.

Swiping a hand across his face to erase his tears, Sanosuke shot Aoshi a look that told him to shut up and the younger man sighed. His head pounded as an after effect of the mix of alcohol and adrenaline.

"Shit, man," he mumbled, fumbling in his pants pocket for the aspirin packet that he usually kept in his wallet.

Aoshi took it from him when he found it.

"I'd wait a little before mixing alcohol and aspirin," he said to the brown haired man. Sanosuke glared at him, the moaned in pain. His normally tan skin was tinged green.

"Eh, you don't look so hot, Sagara-san," Misao said, eyeing him as she emerged from the kitchen with a handheld vacuum.

Sanosuke sprung up from his leather armchair and raced towards the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind him. They heard him get violently sick moments later. Misao shook her head.

"He shouldn't drink like that when he knows he can't hold his alcohol under stress," she clucked, heading to the stain on the carpet. "It's so reckless."

"He's usually better than this," Aoshi said, a lightweight himself when it came to drinking. "Tonight he just wasn't thinking clearly."

"I'll say," Misao muttered, turning on the small handheld for a few seconds, cleaning up any leftover shot glass shards. After she was done, she said, "Kaoru-san's the same way. She cannot hold alcohol for her life."

"Kaoru's not old enough to drink," the dark haired spy said, staring at his lover, referring to the drinking age that was amended ten years beforehand.

The sixteen year old rolled her eyes. "Oh please, Aoshi-sama. Besides the fact that she practically lives with her boyfriend who was of age a year ago, Kaoru-san is no stranger to alcohol."

He held up his hand. "On second thought, I don't even want to know," he said, getting up and putting the food they bought for Sanosuke in the practically empty fridge. Misao followed him in. "This man has no food in the house."

"Kaoru usually does the food shopping on Tuesdays, which is tomorrow," she said. "But Sanosuke is helpless when it comes to things like that. If it were up to him, he'd eat crap all the time. It's so typical for a man."

Aoshi gazed at her with mock hurt. "I'm not like that. I go food shopping all the time and bring us back good stuff."

"You are an exception, darling," the girl said, pointing at him with the handheld before putting it under the sink. She stood on tiptoe to give him a quick kiss. "And that's what makes you wonderful."

He offered her a quick smile as they walked into the apartment's living room, hading Misao a water bottle and the confiscated aspirin packet. They heard Sanosuke moaning quietly in the bathroom.

"Come on, Sagara," the NJAAF spy said, helping the drunk man up. "You can't sleep on the bathroom floor. Misao, go turn down the blankets in the bedroom."

"Why not?" the other man muttered. "It's nice and cool I don't want to move. I feel like shit."

"I bet. You'll feel better once you're in bed and you've had some aspirin."

As they slowly made their way into the bedroom, Aoshi could see Kaoru's influences in the decorating. The comforter was a rich iridescent plum color with a black fleur de lis pattern on it. Definitely Kaoru's touch and it made Aoshi smile. Sanosuke swayed as he walked to the queen sized bed, sliding under the covers with a sigh.

"Misao, I'm going to start the car," he said. The girl nodded. "Do you have a key to lockup before we leave?"

"Yep," she said, holding up a silver key. "I'm just gonna make sure he's settled and I'll be right down." She turned her attention back to her friend as Aoshi walked away, shaking her head and clucking her tongue.

"God, Sanosuke, you're a mess," she said using his first name, which was a rare occurrence. She ripped open the aspirin packet and handed him the two gel tablets with the bottle of water. "What are we going to do with you?"

"I'm sorry, Misao," he said quietly, after swallowing the tablets. "I was a little crazy tonight and I did a few things I'm not proud of."

"Ah, it's okay," she said cheerfully, patting his arm. "It happens to the best of us." She sobered, looking at a picture of Sanosuke and Kaoru on the nightstand. She leaned over, placing the flash drive next to the photo. "Today was a hard day for you."

Sanosuke followed her gaze. "I just love her so much," he whispered, voice catching with unshed tears. "I don't know what I'll do if something happens to her."

Misao quickly wiped away a tear. "She'll be okay."

"I was going to ask her to marry me this weekend, you know."

The younger girl's eyes widened. "What?"

"Yeah," Sanosuke said, eyes drifting shut.

"Misao let out a heavy sigh. "The flash drive is on the nightstand. Do you need anything else before we leave?" she asked.

"One thing," he mumbled. "Tell Aoshi that I'm sorry for the way I acted and that he was right."

"Sure thing," she said, kissing his forehead and heading towards the door. She flicked the light off. "Good night."

"Good night. And Misao?"

"Hmm?"

"Aoshi's lucky to have you."

Misao held back a sob. "And Kaoru's lucky to have you. Goodnight, Sagara-san."

"G'night."

Misao shut the door quietly behind her, silver tears coursing down her cheeks. After she locked the front door and left the apartment, she went down to the car. Aoshi was waiting for her arms open wide. She ran the last few steps, throwing herself into his arms.

"What are we going to do if we can't find her?" she asked chokingly, staring up at the love of her life.

Aoshi bent down, kissing away her tears. ""I don't know, love," he said, honestly. "I really don't know."

**A/N: And that ends Part III. Poor Sanosuke. I don't understand why I have to be so mean to my favorite characters? It's so awful… -sigh- I hope you are enjoying the story so far and I hope that you will review! Thanks!**


	4. Part IV

**Beginning Note:** Well, I actually haven't been remiss with writing this fic. I have been writing it, but I've been jumping around. I started Part V without even finishing Part IV… Yeah, I'm a terrible person. It's okay. I hope you all can forgive my laxness. I'm working a couple of jobs as well as doing freelance writing and working on 80 other stories. I'll try to concentrate on this one for a little bit more. I actually have the ending planned out so there will probably be about 3 more parts. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:**I do not own RuroKen. I wish I did, but I don't. Please enjoy the workings of my dark, sordid mind!

**Possession: Part IV**

Kaoru tried her best to make sense of the many winding halls that made up the Battousai's massive house. It seemed futile to even try to remember the path they took since the red-headed killer seemed determined to confuse her with the mansion's layout. Trailing behind Yahiko on still highly unsteady legs, the weapons specialist resolved herself to making an escape plan when she was let outside. If she was ever let outside again.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, they stopped in front of a solid wood door with a bright brass handle. Kaoru looked at the Battousai, her blue eyes meeting his amber ones defiantly, daring him to surprise her. He smirked slightly at the look and opened the door.

Despite her defiance, the teenager _was_ surprised by the room and it showed on her face, much to her disgust and Kenshin's intense pleasure. It wasn't the torture room the NJAAF agent had been expecting. Instead, it was a tastefully decorated bedroom with pale yellow walls, a large bed, a dresser of drawers, and a light oak rocking chair next to a nightstand and full bookshelf. Kaoru stared in amazement at the highly feminine room.

"Well?"

She blinked. "Well, what?" she asked, eliciting a frustrated sigh from Kenshin.

"Go in."

"Excuse me?"

The crime lord's eyes narrowed. "You have proven yourself to be of higher intelligence," he said shortly. "Let's not ruin it by acting stupid. Get in the room."

Kaoru dug her heels into the carpet as the older man clamped down on her wrist, practically dragging her into the room. She fought his tight grip the entire time, much to Yahiko's admiration. He had no idea where all her spunk came from. She was openly defiant, despite hours of physical and mental torture.

"I am tired of this game you're determined to play, Kamiya," Kenshin said, virtually shoving the resisting Kaoru into the bedroom. He smiled with grim satisfaction as the girl lost her balance and stumbled into the yellow room. "Yahiko, I have things to take care of. Explain the living arrangements to our guest here, and then lock the door behind you."

"Sure thing, Kenshin," the boy said.

"Have a pleasant night," the red-head said, bowing mockingly.

Kaoru glared at the Battousai's retreating back.

"Asshole," she muttered darkly before turning to Yahiko. "Well, inform me so I can be miserable in peace."

He blinked at her. "Uh, yeah. Sure," he began, stumbling over his words. "There are clothes in the dresser and closet. Kenshin doesn't want you ruining the blanket and sheets with your dirty clothes."

"Charming," she commented dryly, swiping at her ruined skirt suit half-heartedly.

"A doctor will be stopping by in about an hour, after you take a shower and change." He pointed to the door on the opposite side of the room. "The bathroom's in there. Don't think of trying to drown yourself. The water only lasts ten minutes and doesn't fill the shower. Same thing for the sink."

"Killing oneself while standing up must be uncomfortable."

Yahiko ignored her and continued.

"If you're hungry, tell me now so I can send food up with the doctor."

"Something soft and cold," she said, mouth throbbing.

"Fine. I'll be the one to wake you up in the morning for breakfast. Be decent," he said, coloring slightly. "Don't cause trouble and don't try to escape because you will pay dearly for it. Any questions?"

"Pretty speech. Do you say that to everyone who spends the night?" she asked sarcastically.

Yahiko scowled at the NJAAF specialist.

"If you don't have a question, I suggest you take a shower."

He turned to leave, but paused when he reached the door.

"You might as well make yourself comfortable with the fact that you're not leaving here anytime soon."

The boy looked down.

"I'm sorry. Good night."

He shut the door softly and as the lock clicked into place, Kaoru felt her eyes fill with tears.

"I'm sorry too," she whispered. Then she straightened and slapped herself mentally. "Alright. It does me no good to cry and feel sorry for myself. I'll take a shower, put on different clothes, and then try to figure out my situation."

The girl nodded to herself. It was a decent plan, if not simple.

Fifteen minutes later, Kaoru emerged from the bathroom blood and dirt free, dressed in a pair of black athletic shorts and a soft, gray cotton tank top that she had found in the dresser. She sat down in the rocking chair, carefully towel-drying her long raven hair, scalp pricking in pain, thinking about the situation she currently found herself in. Twisting a damp lock around her finger, the teenager listed the things she was completely and utterly sure of.

First, if she was in the Battousai's second complex outside of Tokyo, she would probably not be found by any NJAAF team, IF or otherwise. Secondly, if that proved to be true, then, as Yahiko had said, she would have to get used to the idea of living in the complex until she was no longer useful. And thirdly, the Battousai had made a huge mistake of not taking away her bobby pins, which she could easily use as makeshift lock picks to try and escape the room and explore the mansion, if not escape entirely.

Kaoru chewed her bottom lip worriedly, ignoring the sting and coppery taste of blood as she considered the last thing. Certainly it was difficult to see the bobby pins in her dark hair, bur during the hours of torture, she had seen those golden hawk eyes flick to them multiple times. And why would he allow her any means of escape, especially when he had taken her real lock pick set away with her weapons? That bastard was testing her. He expected her to try and escape. Most likely tonight or the next night.

She gave a short, humorless laugh. She would pretend to be the scared, little, broken hostage and stay put for a week or so. Long enough for the Battousai to get bored with trying to make her talk. When the perfect moment arose, she would grab at it and work with what she had. Kaoru sank sown in the rocking chair, gently moving it with her left foot. With her plans for the week settled, all she could do now was sit and wait for the crime lord's doctor. Her eyes drifted shut as she stared at the door, and within minutes, she was asleep.

o-o-o-o-o

"Your behavior tonight was rather odd," Kenshin commented as Yahiko handed him the key that locked Kaoru's room. "It's very unlike you to interrupt an interrogation."

The boy colored and mumbled something under his breath. He heard Kenshin rustle his newspaper and clear his throat, an obvious sign that he was to repeat his comment.

"She reminded me of two people," he said again, shoving his hands into his dark blue hoodie's pocket.

He waited to see if Kenshin would move. He didn't. He just continued to scan the international section, obviously uninterested.

"It was actually eerily similar," the young boy volunteered, causing the assassin to sigh inaudibly. He took the bait.

"Who did the lovely and intriguing Kamiya remind you of?"

"Well, my mom for one. The way she defended me, just like Mom did," Yahiko said softly, eyes pricking at the memory of his mother's death.

He had only been six when his parents had been killed in a home invasion. His mother his him in the secret space in their bedroom closet and told the robbers he was at daycare. He listened to her sob and the gunshot that stopped any sound. He had been found several hours later, sitting in a pool of blood next to his mother's dead body.

He had then been shuffled from relative to relative before running away and living on the streets at age seven. Yahiko survived through begging and picking pockets. The brown-eyed boy one day managed to pick the wrong pocket and got caught. The man and his friends had thrown in the child into a deserted back alley and had started beating him within an inch of his life. There was suddenly a spurt of gunfire and the beating stopped.

Yahiko could barely open his swollen eyes to see one of the men staring back at him, lying in his own blood. The boy thrust himself away from the dead man, only to back into a pair of suit-clad legs. The then seven-year-old Yahiko looked up to see a demon with liquid amber eyes and hair as red as the blood dotting his white shirt. His savior started down at him, expression unreadable. Too terrified to speak, Yahiko had continued to stare at the older man, vision hazy with pain. Without a word to the boy, the demon picked up the bloodied and injured Yahiko by the shirt collar and now, three and a half years later, here they were.

"That's understandable. It's mentioned in Kamiya's file that she's prone to mothering," Kenshin commented, still not looking up from his newspaper. "Who else?"

"Huh?"

"You said she reminded you of two people. Who else?"

The boy paused. "You should know that answer better than anyone else," he said lightly.

Kenshin froze, knowing exactly who his young charge meant. He himself had made the comparison multiple times, but was never brave enough to linger on those thoughts.

"Tomoe," the killer rasped, setting the paper down on his mahogany desk.

"Yes," the child said quietly. "She's just like her in some ways. The way she cares about people. I bet she melts the iciest hearts."

The red-haired man steeled himself and shot Yahiko a stern look. "I am not one of them," he snapped, picking up his paper again. "Plus she's nothing like Tomoe."

Yahiko stared at the man who had saved his life and become his mentor and father figure, knowing the battle the crime lord fought within. Almost everyone did.

"You can deny it all you like, but you know that it's true. I'm going to leave now," Yahiko said, making his way across the room. He paused before he shut the door.

"G'night, Kenshin."

"Good night, Yahiko," he returned, continuing to read.

Kenshin set the paper down as the door clicked shut. As much as he wanted to deny it, Yahiko was right. The Kamiya girl was similar to Tomoe, uncannily so, and it made him angry. He had always struggled to lock that part of himself away. To lock away what had happened.

A smile appeared on his lips. Fine. If he had to suffer because of the defiant teen, so would the ones who loved her. He picked up his phone and dialed a number.

His feral grin widened at the sound of the voice on the other end.

"Good evening, Director."

o-o-o-o-o

"Um, excuse me?"

Kaoru stirred and opened her eyes, trying to pinpoint where the voice was coming from.

"Kamiya-san?"

The source of the voice was standing ten feet away. A pretty but timid girl stared at her, fidgeting and looking uncomfortable. Kaoru thought she looked scared witless and wondered why. She then realized that the young girl was frightened by her. Kaoru bit her lip in annoyance, trying not to roll her eyes.

"I'm not going to eat you. I'm far too tired," the teenager informed the girl, who squeaked and ducked her head. "What do you want?"

"I have you food," she said, stuttering softly, still not meeting Kaoru's gaze. "And the doctor's here."

Kaoru sighed and stood up stiffly, causing the absurdly timid pre-teen to shrink back.

"Stop that!" the NJAAF agent snapped, eyes flashing angrily. "I'm not going to hurt you, so stop acting like I'm about to!"

"That's enough of that," said an aged voice. "Our Tsubame is very shy and you are more than capable of injuring her, even in your sorry state."

The teenager glared at the elderly man who was standing in the doorway. He was dressed neatly in dark blue slacks and a white button down shirt, stethoscope hanging around his neck. His face was weathered and his thin-lipped mouth was framed by a precisely trimmed goatee.

This was obviously the doctor in charge of tending to her extensive wounds. He glared right back at her, with Tsubame wondering who would win the staring contest. It was Kaoru who broke eye contact first.

"Well, are we doing this or not?" she asked, sitting on the bed and crossing her arms over her chest.

"If you promise to behave," the old man said, ambling towards her. "No more scaring Tsubame."

"Cross my heart," Kaoru said dryly. "I apologize for my behavior, Tsubame."

The younger girl blushed and brought a steel serving cart into the room, several bowls of soft cold food on the top shelf. Kaoru's mouth watered at the sight of the food.

"You get to eat when I'm done," the doctor informed her.

Kaoru made a face but let the doctor examine her. She flinched as his fingers gently felt for fractures and breaks underneath the bruises and cuts. The teenager's vision swam when he popped her two dislocated and broken fingers back into their sockets before splinting them.

"Hold shit," she muttered when she could see again.

"I'm impressed," the old doctor said after he was done splinting her fingers. "Even the hardiest of people I've treated made more noise than you."

"Well, old man," Kaoru gritted out, experimentally moving her formerly dislocated fingers. "I've been trained from an early age to try and ignore pain."

"My name is Dr. Gensai so you're not forever calling me 'old man.' And your philosophy is very samurai-like," he commented.

"My father's a very traditional man that way," she said wryly. "Are you done now so I can eat?"

"I expect such thoughts with you being the daughter of Kamiya Kentarou," Dr. Gensai said with a sigh, writing down the extent of the young woman's injuries. "You can eat now."

"So how badly am I damaged?" Kaoru asked through a mouthful of yogurt. Tsubame giggled at the way the older girl sounded and the teenager offered her a small smile.

"Well, you're pretty banged up. You have multiple bruises and lacerations. A missing molar, two broken and dislocated fingers," he said, ticking them off on his fingers. "A bruised collarbone, a possible hairline fracture of your tibia, and most likely, several bruised and cracked ribs."

"Huh."

"Huh indeed. That kind of abuse was highly unnecessary," the old man said, somewhat testily.

Kaoru shrugged, wincing as she did. "It's probably nothing compared to how much of a smartass I was," she said, taking another bite of yogurt. "If you're so against it, why work for the Battousai?"

"It's complicated," the doctor said, pulling a roll of Ace bandages from his bag. "I'm going to wrap your ribs tonight, and tomorrow you'll come to the medical wing and get X-Rays."

"Whatever," the NJAAF agent said. "It's up to his royal jerkface."

"I'm sure Kenshin wants to keep you in decent condition, so I will see you tomorrow around one-thirty."

She scowled at Dr. Gensai.

"Is everyone here so bossy?" she asked, voice dark as the old man began wrapping her ribcage with the thick, tan material.

He sniggered and just smiled at her. Kaoru assumed that meant yes and her scowl deepened.

"This place will be the death of me," she grumbled, not thinking about her word choice.

Dr. Gensai paused before securing the Ace bandage.

"If you're not careful, it will be," he said softly.

The teenager looked back at him, startled and gave him a sad smile. Tsubame just looked down.

"I will probably die here, but I'm going to try my damnedest not to."

"You can't make promises to yourself, especially a promise like that," the old man said, packing up his medical bag.

"Well, if it's my fate to die here, I will go fighting at least. I refuse to lie down and show that bastard my belly," she spat, adjusting her tank top so it laid flat over the bandage.

Dr. Gensai looked at her with gloomy eyes.

"Pray Kenshin has use for you, woman-child, because God help you if he doesn't," he said, ushering the silent Tsubame out of the room.

"God has nothing to do with it. I'm not a child, Dr. Gensai," Kaoru said, drawing herself up straight. "I hold no illusions or pretty hopes. I'm just determined, willful, and smart. And I'm going to try my hardest to get out or die trying. Good night."

She closed the door in the old man's face before he could reply. She wasn't stupid. She knew how little her chances of survival were, but it would not stop her from planning her escape. The weapon's specialist signed as she settled back down on the bed, selecting another bowl from the metal cart. She took a bite and laughed out loud, delighted to find chocolate and peanut butter ice cream in the bowl, her favorite.

Kaoru glanced around the room, searching for any hidden cameras. Unable to spot any, she delved into the bowl happily, despite her situation. The Battousai obviously had a ridiculously specific and thorough file on her if he knew her favorite ice cream flavor. But as long as the crime lord couldn't watch her enjoy her ice cream, Kaoru was happy.

o-o-o-o-o

"You do realize that you severely beat a seventeen-year-old girl almost to death?"

"Oh, please, Dr. Gensai," Kenshin said, waving a careless hand at the old man, not taking his liquid golden eyes from the surveillance footage. "This is a highly trained, extremely healthy NJAAF agent and weapons specialist. She was a little more challenging than most."

"Kenshin, that doesn't make it right," the doctor said, handing the killer the list of Kaoru's injuries. "This is a girl who suffers a lot already; beatings are not going to help. Look at who her father is for Christ's sake."

"Which is exactly why I'm treating Kamiya the way I am," the crime lord said, fast-forwarding the footage he was watching. "Treat her too lightly, she'll escape, and all this glory comes tumbling down. Treat her too harshly and then she's dead and I have to leverage to bargain with."

The doctor stared sadly at the younger man. He remembered when Kenshin was still an honest man. Back when Tomoe was still alive. He was less angry and was quicker to forgive than to take revenge. But the old doctor knew all too well the effects of tragedy on a person. The current Himura Kenshin was a prime example.

"It's not her fault what happened to your fiancé, you know that, right?"

Kenshin paused the tape, the screen frozen on an image of his captive kicking one of his lackeys under the chin, in a tight skirt no less.

"This is not about Tomoe, Doctor," he said casually, spinning in his chair to face the older man.

"Then what is it about, Kenshin? You ask too much of an old man," Dr. Gensai said quietly. "I refuse to heal her just for you to kill her."

The crime lord smirked.

"Not kill," he said, grin malicious. "Just break. Like a wild horse. It's going to take some time, but sooner or later, she'll break."

Dr. Gensai backed away slightly, feeling uneasy.

"I just hope you know what you're doing," the old man said. "If you injure her more than she is, I will let her walk out the door myself. She's not a toy."

"Careful with your threats, Doctor," the red-headed man said, amber eyes narrowed. "You may be a part of this organization and an old family friend, but I will send you out those front gates in a body bag."

The dark-eyed doctor merely stared at Kenshin for several moments. Finally, he signed and turned towards the office door.

"Kaoru has several areas that need X-Rays. Have her in the medical wing by one-thirty tomorrow."

"Will do, Doctor," Kenshin said, mockingly saluting the old man's back.

After the doctor left, the golden-eyed demon turned his attention back to the paused video. He tapped the play button on the screen, eagerly drinking in Kamiya's fluidity as she thrust, punched, and kicked, trying to fight off her kidnappers. It was beautiful and hypnotizing to watch the lithe girl move and even more satisfying when his men finally subdued her, the teenager still struggling.

She was definitely going to be an enjoyment to break.

**A/N: Again, I apologize for lack of writing on this fic. I had more written than I thought I did and I was afraid I was going to have to write more. I'm happy to say that's not the case. Hopefully Part V will be finished soon and I will be able to update this fic regularly and finish it in a somewhat timely manner. Please review! Thanks, and you're all the best!**


	5. Part V

**Beginning Note: **See, I told you I would update quickly! But I've only kind of sort of started Part VI… So yeaaaaaaah. It'll happen! I hope you enjoyed the last part. I'm trying to make things as exciting as possible, but some parts have to be boring. It can't be all action-y all the time! Please enjoy!

**Disclaimer:**I do not own RuroKen. I wish I did, but I don't. Please enjoy the workings of my dark, sordid mind!

**Possession: Part V**

Kaoru sat in the rocking chair, focused. She leaned forward, bracing her elbows on her knees. If she was going to escape, it would have to be tonight. She refused to spend another minute in this hell hole, even if it was beautifully decorated. A week had certainly been enough. A cage was a cage, whether the bars were gilded or painted wire.

This was her moment. Steeling herself, she gripped the bobby pin lock picks hidden in her zip-up pocket tightly. She knew they would work after practicing several times during the week. She knew this lock like she knew the back of her hand.

The weapons specialist quietly made her way to the solid wood door and knelt so that the doorknob was eye level. Kaoru inserted one of the bobby pins and went to work. She smiled in satisfaction as the lock clicked open softly. Cautiously, she turned the doorknob as silently as she could and pushed the door open.

She was ready for the guard's reaction as she lashed out with her foot, kicking him straight in the groin. What she wasn't ready for was the large, now angry Doberman Pinscher straining at its leash. The guard wheezed as he got to his feet, eyes boring into her azure ones.

She smirked at the man, who ordered his dog to stand down.

"Come get me," she taunted, anticipating the guard's movements.

He swung at her, meaty arm heavy and covered in Kevlar. Kaoru ducked and jabbed the man in the side. He roared and brought his fist down, clipping the girl on the temple. Ignoring the trickle of blood, she feinted to the right and slammed her foot into the man's knee. It buckled and he fell to one knee, cursing.

The Doberman barked wildly, itching to tear the NJAAF agent apart. He wouldn't break until his handler told him to. Seeing the girl's attention on the dog, the heavier man swept out his foot, taking Kaoru's feet right out from under her. She fell to a heap onto the hallway floor, wincing as her barely healed body protested the abuse.

She struggled to her feet as the guard advanced towards her.

"Come on," she mocked. "I'm right here!"

The guard struck, smacking her with an openhanded palm, splitting her lip. Kaoru spit the blood onto the hardwood floor as she stood up straight and grinned. She crooked a finger at the man and he rushed towards her. She used his body weight as momentum and he sailed right past her.

He turned swiftly, but froze when he say her waving his military grade Bowie knife. She had snatched it from him halfway through their fight, the bitch. His fear-filled green eyes flicked to his raving mad dog, foam flying from his snapping jaws.

The guard sneered at the Battousai's captive.

"Go," he said in German to the dog, which lunged for her.

Kaoru was slightly startled as the dog bore down on her, but she was ready for the heavily muscled canine. She pivoted quickly as the dog sailed past her and stuck out with her foot. The dog jumped to the side to avoid her sneaker-shod foot and turned, advancing on the NJAAF agent. He leapt towards her again, but the girl was determined to end this fight. She struck fast and hard, and the Doberman Pinscher yelped in pain as she connected with his side. His teeth just grazed her calf before he fell to the floor.

After kicking the snarling dog down, Kaoru lunged forward at the now pale-faced guard, knife in hand. She chopped down hard and was surprised when she didn't see blood. She was even more surprised when she discovered the big, serrated blade was no longer in her grasp.

"Impressive knife work, Kamiya," Kenshin said. "Nice form."

The teenager whipped around to stare at the crime lord, who was grasping the end of the blade with the tips of his calloused fingers. The girl's blue eyes widened in shock and disbelief.

"How did you—"

"Oh, tut tut, Kamiya-san," Battousai said, patting the NJAAF's specialist's milky cheek. "I think I once mentioned that you weren't stupid. I'd hate for you to prove me wrong."

"Shut up," Kaoru snapped, unnerved by the man in front of her and proximity.

Kenshin examined the cruel blade with sharp eyes.

"Now how did you manage to wrestle this pretty thing from one of my guards," he said, keen gaze picking up on the fresh bruises and a slightly swollen lip. "Obviously not without some struggle."

Kaoru fought the intense twin urges to stick her tongue out at him and punch his stupid smirk off his pretty face.

"You're an asshole," she ground out, sparks flashing in her eyes and her nostrils flaring.

Kenshin raised his eyebrows in polite disinterest at the NJAAF agent's insight.

"You were testing me the whole fucking time!" the raven-haired beauty screeched. "You left me with my bobby pins and assigned a dimwit to watch over me to see what I would do. To see how I would handle what I was given."

"See?" the crime lord said. "I told you you weren't stupid."

Kaoru clenched her teeth in frustration. The man before her had managed to outmaneuver her in every way possible, no matter how far ahead she planned.

"Bastard, you played me," she spat, reaching into her zip-up's pocket and pulling out her bobby pin lock picks. The girl threw them at Kenshin's feet, the pins clattering against the shiny wood. "Take them. But know I will escape despite what you think."

She spun on her heels and began to march away. The red-haired killer smiled, and reached out, grabbing her arm. The look Kaoru gave him could have peeled paint off the side of a building.

"Get your fucking hands off of me, Battousai, before I make you!"

"You could try, but it wouldn't succeed," the older man said coolly. "I wish to have a private word with you."

"No," snapped Kaoru, trying to wrench her arm from the killer's vise-like grip. "I'm willing to bet that I end up back in that playroom from Hell."

Kenshin tightened his grip, causing tears to spring into her eyes.

"As I recall, I told you that I am not a patient man. Either you come or I make you come."

"Fine," the specialist spat, voice thick with hate. "Lead on, all powerful master."

"Your sarcasm is noted and not appreciated," the man informed her before dismissing the guard.

"Boo hoo for you," Kaoru muttered as the NJAAF's most wanted ushered her down the long hallway and into a large room off the side.

"Sit," he commanded, pushing her into one of the plush armchairs.

He took the one opposite the teenager and stared at her. The dark-haired girl glared back.

"So, Dr. Gensai told me I was a little too liberal with your injuries.

"Well that's the understatement of the year, asshole," Kaoru sneered. "From what I could tell, you seemed to be enjoying yourself."

Kenshin's golden left eye twitched in annoyance.

"Why is it that every word you speak drips with sarcasm? Daddy didn't beat it out of you?"

"I've learned not to be sarcastic to the Director the hard way, end of story."

Kenshin leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, studying his captive.

"It's impolite to stare," the girl said, inspecting her nails, noting for the first time that they were shorter than she normally kept them. They must have done that when she was passed out.

"I wonder if you and I will ever be able to have a normal conversation."

"Will you let me go if we do?" she asked.

"No."

"Then no," Kaoru said, tossing her long hair over her bare shoulder. "We won't."

"You have to be the most intriguing creature I've had the pleasure of capturing, besides Takani Megumi," he remarked cruelly. "She was also an insightful investment."

"Investment!" the NJAAF agent shrieked, sitting straight up in the armchair. Her eyes blazed like an angry sea.

"I learned a few useful tidbits from her," Kenshin said, a cold smile gracing his hard lips. "Every kidnapping is a gamble, but it paid off."

The teenager flew up from her seat, rage barely concealed.

"You arrogant son of a bitch!" she yelled and lifted her arm to punch the handsome crime lord square in the face.

He was quicker. In one fluid movement, he avoided the wild hit and tripped the NJAAF agent, causing her to fall onto the richly carpeted floor. Moving quickly, he straddled her hips with his own and his strong arms roughly pinned her to the ground.

"Now, now. I thought we agreed to act civil when I invited you into my home." He paused, thinking. "My inner sanctum really. You should consider yourself lucky. Most people never leave that room."

Kaoru struggled uselessly against her captor. He may have looked slight, but there was no denying his strength.

"Fuck you!" she spat, staring hatefully into his golden eyes. "You're a goddamed coward who hides behind his terrifying legend! You're nothing more than a bully."

Kenshin stared down at the hostile girl with pitiless eyes, never breaking his grip.

"I have to admit, Kamiya… I knew dealing with you would be a challenge, but I didn't realize how much." His eyes hardened. "You are a naïve, stupid girl with no idea what creates people. What makes people act the way they do. You play adult, but you might as well play 'House' with that Sagara idiot."

"I'm not an ignorant fool, Battousai," Kaoru snapped. "I know the price humanity pays. But at least I'm worth something." The red-haired man shrugged off her insults. "At least I know what it's like to live and love. A monster like you could never know that, especially lov—"

Her voice was choked off by Kenshin's hard hand squeezing her throat tightly and his eyes flashed dangerously in the lamplight, like liquid fire.

"Don't speak of what you don't know," he hissed angrily, a dull pain aching in his chest. He tightened his grip on the girl's delicate neck, causing tears to leak down her smooth cheeks. "Do you understand me?"

Kaoru's vision started to go blurry and white spots distorted the angry man's face. Kenshin shook the girl roughly like a rag doll; grip still tight on her neck.

"Do you understand me, Kamiya? Blink if you do."

Her eyes fluttered shut. The red-headed crime lord released her and his captive gasped, sucking in air. Her lungs burned with the effort and her throat throbbed with every movement. Kenshin gazed at Kaoru with cold eyes.

"Be ready for me to introduce you to your own personal Hell," he informed the girl prostrated on the floor. She stared at him, eyes betraying nothing. Kenshin had to admire her brevity, even if it was in vain. "You have no idea what I've lost or sacrificed, so don't try to preach to me that price humanity pays for its cruelties."

She sat up, wiping away her tears.

"I've lost and sacrificed too," the NJAAF agent said, voice hoarse, but flat and even. "I've lost a lot more than you think. You call me a naïve, stupid girl only because you detest the fact that I have hope. I have the hope for something better for myself and when there will be a day when I will be happy all the time. You hate the fact that I fight to better humanity and wish for it to fix itself. You can't stand the fact that I'm trying to keep together what you wish to destroy."

"Shut up!" Kenshin roared, slamming his fist sideways into the wall. "Humanity deserves a lot worse than what I'm giving it!"

Kaoru surveyed him with sad, blue eyes.

"I pity you," she told him, slowly getting to her feet. "As much as I hate you, I feel sorry for the fact that you can't have what I have."

"I did once and your fucking father took it away from me."

"My father takes a lot from everyone, including himself," the dark-haired girl said softly. "If you once had what I have, you weren't always a monster."

"I'm still not a monster. It's all a matter of perspective and opinion," Kenshin said, feeling his patience thinning.

"Then take a look in the mirror and tell that to yourself. If you can believe it, come back and tell me. But until then, all I see is a monster in human skin."

The Battousai slapped the younger girl hard, causing her to rock back on her heels. The killer had to give her credit. She didn't put her hand to her inflamed cheek or wipe away the trickle of blood at the corner of her pretty little mouth.

"Get out," he hissed, and he pushed her towards the door. "Just stay out of my sight."

As the Kamiya girl stumbled from the room, Kenshin sank into his plush leather armchair. The dull ache in his chest became a blinding pain that pulsated with every heartbeat. What did that brat know anyway?

"You could just tell her, ya know."

The killer looked up to see Yahiko leaning up against the beautifully papered and teak wood walls, hands thrust deep in his jean pockets. He had apparently made himself comfortable and watched the scene Kenshin and Kaoru had just caused.

"And then what? Invite her to tea and biscuits?"

"It'll make you seem more human to her," the boy said.

"Fortunately for me, I don't care if she thinks I'm enough of a human being."

Yahiko regarded his mentor thoughtfully with deep brown eyes.

"Showing her that you loved someone and that you're not an emotionless robot doesn't make you weak," he said.

"I don't care enough about the Kamiya girl to warrant her opinion."

"That's a lie," the boy told Kenshin softly. The amber-eyed killer glared at him. "You should have killed her a week after you knew she wasn't going to tell you anything we couldn't have figured out for ourselves. But you didn't. And it's all because she's just like _her_."

Kenshin's heart throbbed painfully and he shut his eyes, seeing Tomoe's face.

"Director Daddy might break the rules if his daughter's life is on the line. He might just care about her more than the NJAAF," the man said, opening his eyes and changing his tone.

He was back in control of himself.

Yahiko sighed, giving his savior a look of pity.

"You know he won't," the dark-haired boy said, then shrugged. "But what do I know? I'm only a kid."

"Yahiko—"

The man-child turned back to look at him.

"I get that you have your reasons, Kenshin, but if you're not going to do something with her, knowing full well her father won't negotiate, at least be merciful. You didn't play these games with that doctor." He paused. "Good night, Kenshin."

"She knows she will die," Kenshin said softly, studying his sword-calloused palms. "She has no illusions about her fate."

"Then stop giving her a reason to believe differently," his charge said before closing the door behind him.

"Dammit!" the killer cursed as he slammed his fist against the wall again, causing the antique painting further down to rattle with the impact.

What made this situation so complicated? When did the line blur?

Kenshin sank deeper into the armchair, eyes pricking with tears. Even though it had been over six and a half years since Tomoe's death, it still stabbed him through his heart to think about it. It was the reason he targeted the National Japanese Allied Armed Forces. It was Kamiya's father's fault that his fiancée was killed.

And because of his loss, the broken man adopted his Battousai personality fully and began to systematically destroy the organization Kamiya Kentarou dedicated most of his life to. Kenshin had decided that the arrogant man should feel the pain of having the person he loved the most murdered.

So after working his way up to where he was now, he had Kamiya's wife killed. He recognized her name in a lot of the reports about his political assassinations during the rebellions of fifteen years ago. Kamiya Hinako had been a star in the Investigative Force's K-9 unit. She had been beautiful, intelligent, and determined to keep her only child away from the NJAAF.

Kenshin had been able to kill two birds with one stone when it came to killing Hinako. She had gotten too close to finding him one time too many and he didn't feel comfortable letting her live. And from his spies in the organization, he knew it would be years before anyone decoded the IF agent's notes. It was an added bonus that she had been married to Kamiya Kentarou.

"I wish that was easier, Tomoe," the broken man whispered, cradling his head in his hands. "Why can't I kill her? Why do I hesitate all of a sudden?"

The former assassin grimaced. He was being foolish. Of course he knew why. Yahiko had been correct in his assessment of the older man. Kenshin was hesitating because the girl reminded him of his dead fiancée. That would not do.

Standing up abruptly, he stalked over the decanter of whiskey that sat on an ornately carved table. He poured the golden liquid into a crystal tumbler and threw it back, the alcohol burning like fire as it slid down his throat. He poured himself another glassful and drank it in one large gulp again.

He felt his body get deliciously warm as the whiskey worked its way through his system. Maybe that would be enough to keep out the nightmares that plagued him every time he thought about Tomoe.

Feeling determined, he drank another glass of whiskey, this time more slowly. Fuzzy plans began forming as he thought about the Kamiya girl and all the trouble she was causing. He grinned lopsidedly as he imagined his sword slicing though her ring finger, the appendage being a gift for either her father or the stupid Sagara idiot. He would have to think of something appropriate.

Anger built inside him and his eyes burned in the lamplight. With amazing strength and force, he threw the tumbler against the wall where it shattered. He was going to build a world better suited to the highest bidder's wishes. All Kenshin had to do was burn down this one and rise up from that ashes, on top and victorious.

o-o-o-o-o

Aoshi glanced at the girl sitting on the couch with her knees drawn into her chest. She was silently staring at the television, but seemed to be thinking about something else.

"Misao?"

"Uh?"

"Are you okay?" the older man asked, shifting his focus on her.

"Hmm," the young spy hummed, not really giving an answer.

"Misao?" Aoshi asked a little louder. "Are you okay?"

Misao jumped.

"Oh. Sorry. I was just thinking."

"About?"

"Kaoru," the girl said softly. Tears filled her eyes. "I'm terrified of finding her on the steps of the NJAAF building like Megumi."

Aoshi took off his glasses and placed them on the pile of reports that he had been reading. He went over to his girlfriend and wrapped his strong arms around her. She sobbed into his shoulder.

"It's my fault that she's gone," she cried, voice muffled. "I shouldn't have let her go to the car by herself, especially after the threats Director Kamiya had been getting."

"Shh, Misao," the older man said, stroking her hair. "You didn't know the Battousai was going to take her. It's just one of the dangers of working for the NJAAF. You know that."

She pulled back, wiping the tears away.

"I know, I know. We should have been more careful though, especially since we had just intercepted one of the Battousai's weapon's shipments. Kaoru and Sanosuke were the lead agents on that operation."

"But then why just focus on Kaoru?" Aoshi asked, tapping his fingers against his thigh, thinking.

Misao shook her head.

"That's it. I don't know. It doesn't make sense. Why only capture one of the agents in charge? Why not both, especially since they live together? It's easier."

"Maybe it's to weaken the team. Lower morale because Kaoru's female," the ice blue-eyed UIA agent suggested.

"But if that's the case, why not take me too?" Misao argued. "I went out to look for her. That's how I found the note. It would have been easy to take me too. No, it's not because of gender. It's something else."

Aoshi's brow was furrowed in concentration.

"We're all part of the team dedicated to tracking the Battousai and his organization's movements. It's possible he's picking off the main agents. Megumi was the start."

"That's a possibility," she said, chewing her bottom lip. "But I feel that this is more personal. I mean, yeah, he started with Megumi, but that could just be a coincidence. Kaoru is the key. Why start with her? Why not less protected agents? There are plenty of people of the Battousai task force. Why not you or me or Soujiro? It doesn't make sense."

"Hmm, true. It's a huge risk taking the daughter of the NJAAF director," he said. His eyes got wide. "That's it."

"What's it?" asked Misao, staring at her boyfriend, who was now shuffling around the files that sat around the kitchen table.

"The connection," the tall spy said, glasses sitting askew on his nose. "He took Kaoru because of the Director."

"I'm confused."

"The Battousai isn't specifically targeting NJAAF agents. He's targeting the one closest to Director Kamiya," Aoshi said. "Remember you said that Kaoru thought the Battousai was behind her mother's murder, and that it wasn't a carjacking gone wrong like everyone believed?"

"Yes, but how is that the connection?"

"How much do you know about the Battousai before he became a huge player on the black market?"

"Not much," the girl admitted. "There wasn't a lot in his file. Just that his parents had died when he was little from cholera when there was an outbreak years ago. The martial artist and antique sword collector Seijiro Hiko took him under his wing. They had a falling out at the start of the rebellions and he is what he is now."

The dark-haired man held up a file.

"There's a lot more to the story," he said, finally fixing his reading glasses. "Both Sanosuke and I know a lot about the time between the rebellions and now, since we were a part of the Japanese Underground. But it's never been put into any of the files that the task force gets because of the Director. This file is the only one maintained by the NJAAF. It's not even supposed to leave the building."

Misao raised her eyebrows.

"I'm guessing you conveniently forgot that fact when you snuck it out of the UIA's file room?" she asked, unable to keep the amusement out of her voice.

"Something like that," Aoshi said wryly, lips twisting into a smirk. "I've been known to forget the rules at times."

"So, what's in this highly top secret, poorly guarded file?"

"The reason the Battousai targeted Director Kamiya. Twelve years ago, before the Battousai, he was just Himura Kenshin, originally just a thug, but he was recruited by leaders of the rebellions as an assassin for his sword skills," he explained, spreading the file out on a table. "Hiko was well-versed in the ancient art of sword play and passed that along to Battousai. Hiko was and still is very good. He does exhibitions for the Ancient Japanese History Museum in Kyoto."

"But why recruit the Battousai for assassinations?" Misao asked. "Wouldn't it have been smarter to use a weapon that doesn't have such a specific kill signature?"

"Well, that's just it," Aoshi said, pointing to a glossy crime scene photo. "Anyone can kill with a long-range gun. That's why sniper rifles are common for assassinations. And it's easier to do. But a katana makes a statement. It's intimate and requires close contact. It instills fear. But most of all, it's a slap in the face."

"How?" the girl asked, studying the photos the other UIA agent had strewn on the kitchen table. The 8x10 pictures were brutal and savage.

"Because the rebellion leaders were able to laugh in the government's faces. It was like saying 'We can get you anywhere no matter how well-guarded you are.'

And Himura was good at it. Fast, efficient. He was able to kill eighty percent of security before they even realized the threat. The Battousai's body count is well into the hundreds and there are more we may never know about."

"Wow," Misao said. "But why the Director? Why his wife and daughter?"

"About six years into the rebellions, his fiancée had been caught in a raid at what was supposed to be a rebel safe house. Director Kamiya led the raid personally. The fiancée, Yukoshiro Tomoe, was killed.

According to a rebellion survivor who was there that night, she put up a huge struggle and the Director smacked her across the face so hard her neck broke."

He pushed forward two pictures. One was of a cute, doe-eyed girl, smiling widely into the camera. The next showed the same girl lying on a dirty floor, neck at a strange angle. A trickle of blood ran from her mouth and her eyes stared into nothingness.

"Pretty girl," Misao commented softly. "So what happened?"

"Tomoe was everything to Battousai and the Director took it away in less than three minutes. It became the catalyst for him. From what little intel the NJAAF has been able to gather, which is next to nothing," Aoshi commented bitterly, "Battousai dedicated his life to destroying Director Kamiya. Running black market drugs and weapons has made him rich and powerful, but it's only the start."

"What?" the girl exclaimed, aqua eyes alarmed.

"It's not going to stop," the older spy said grimly. "He's becoming a crime lord. He really is, actually. Any people that are in small organized crime groups are threatened to join or eliminated.

From what I can understand, in the next two years, Battousai will a have a monopoly on organized crime and international black market sales here in Japan. And the National Japanese Allied Armed Forces will be helpless if he can continue to hold Kaoru hostage."

"Oh my God," Misao whispered.

Aoshi nodded.

"It's the Director's job to be objective, especially when it comes to Kaoru," he said. "But this is killing him. She's all he has left. If anything happens to her, he'll fall apart."

"What will happen to NJAAF?"

"IT's an international organization, so we'd be okay for a while," the spectacled man said. "But Director Kamiya is the backbone of the organization and the Japanese headquarters the nucleus. But if he loses it, the NJAAF will crumble."

**A/N: Dut dut duhhhhhh! So much drama! This has been moving faster than I thought. Hopefully this means that I will have this story done within the next two months. Typing has inspired me to work on finishing it before I do anything more for any other stories, like put them on the website! Haha! I hope you enjoyed Part V. Please read and review! I need it to survive!**


	6. Part VI

**Beginning Note:** As I said, this is chugging along faster than I thought it would. I hadn't planned on doing so many parts to this, but it's turning out to be bigger than I planned. I think because I'm just writing and not separating the parts and deciding where to cut it off as I go. I was thinking "Oh my god, I only have Part V written and I haven't even started Part VI!" Total lie. So enjoy the fact that I'm more productive that I am with everything else in life! Haha! Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:**I do not own RuroKen. I wish I did, but I don't. Please enjoy the workings of my dark, sordid mind!

**Possession: Part VI**

Sanosuke sat in his apartment, the television flickering images of the world. It had ben Kaoru and his ritual to watch the news after work and study the politics of other countries, especially those associated with the NJAAF. They would also watch for anything that could be traced back to the Battousai and his group.

"Today, the Japanese company, Imura Pharmaceuticals partnered with the American pharmaceutical company, Pfizer, to develop a new HIV/AIDS vaccine that increases survival rates forty percent better than the current marketed vaccine," the BBC reporter said.

"The HIV/AIDS ravaged Africa has already put in an astronomical order to the company for the new drug," the British woman continued. "HIV/AIDS spiraled out of control in Africa eighty years ago after still unknown terrorists bombed the Southern half of the continent with a type of biological warfare never seen before. The virus spread rapidly, but thanks to Ayashima Industries and the former United Nations, the virus was reined in by the development of the current marketed drug."

The former gang member raised his eyebrows. He scribbled what the newscaster had said on the legal pad in front of him. He knew that Ayashima Industries was now owned by the Battousai's organization, but Imura Pharmaceuticals was a fairly new player on the prescription drug market. Sanosuke couldn't be sure if it was also owned by the Battousai.

His train of thought was interrupted by a firm knock on the door. The nineteen-year-old glanced at wristwatch. Who would be at his door at eleven at night? He heaved himself out of his worn leather armchair and went to the door. It swung open to reveal Director Kamiya.

"Director," Sanosuke said, surprised.

"I know it's late, Sagara," the older man said. "I won't keep you too long."

"No, it's fine," the messy haired teenager said, moving aside. "Please come in. Would you like a drink?"

"No, thank you. May I sit?"

"Oh, yes. Of course," Sanosuke said, rushing to move the piles of files and legal pads that covered the coffee table. He muted the television. "Sorry about the mess."

"It's fine," the man said.

The director of the NJAAF glanced at the pad his employee had been taking notes on.

"Kaoru keeps the apartment cleaner than I do," The NJAAF agent said, then froze.

If the mentioning of his kidnapped daughter bothered Kentarou, he didn't let it show.

"Imura Pharmaceuticals? Why were you taking notes on the news?" he asked.

"Habit, sir. We scan the news every night to see if there is any Battousai related activity."

"We?"

"Kaoru and I, sir," the young man said softly. "Anything suspicious we forward to the Undercover Intelligence Agency."

"Hmm," was all the director said.

"Not to seem rude, Director Kamiya," Sanosuke said slowly. "But why are you here?"

Kentarou pulled a thick Fed-Ex World packaging envelope from his briefcase and handed it to the other man.

"This was delivered to my office two hours ago."

"What is it?"

"Open it."

Sanosuke lifted the flap and pulled out two Ziploc bags. The gallon back contained several 5x7 photographs. The smaller one held something small and white, and bloody.

"Is that a—"

"Tooth?" the director finished. "Yes."

"Kaoru's?"

"Yes," Kentarou said, sounding old and tired. "I had the lab test the blood sample."

Sanosuke spilled the photos out of the bad. He felt sick to his stomach. Every picture was of Kaoru, each of them taken at a different angle. She was unconscious, hanging limply by thick chains. She had been beaten badly and her clothes were ripped, dirty, and bloodstained.

_This_ was more like the Battousai's style. The bragging. The rubbing it in their faces.

He looked up at his boss, who was studying him with piercing blue eyes. Kaoru's eyes.

"Any trace evidence on the photos?" Sanosuke asked.

"No," Kentarou said. "Sagara, I know you love my daughter and I know she loves you. I see it when she looks at you. I looked at my wife the same way."

The former fighter flushed under his tan and fidgeted uncomfortably. He had no idea where this conversation was headed. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know.

"I haven't been a good father," the older man said plainly. "I can't be both a father and a boss at the same time. After a while, Kaoru and I just worked better as director and agent."

The young man nodded in understanding.

"She had to grow up too early after her mother was killed," Kaoru's father continued. "Hinako wanted something different for her. She never wanted Kaoru to be a part of the NJAAF. But that's the world we live in now."

"She told me that's all she's ever wanted to do." Sanosuke said to Kentarou.

The older man sighed.

"I know. I did try to keep her from it, but it just created friction. You know that. I relented, but by doing so, it destroyed our relationship as father and daughter."

"Why are you telling me all this, sir?"

"Because I want you to understand, Sagara. As director of the National Japanese Allied Armed Forces, Kaoru's just like any other agent that has been held hostage. I can't treat her any differently or afford her special treatment because she's my daughter," Kentarou explained. "She knows that and I'm blessed enough that she doesn't take advantage of our relationship. That's why I denied your request last week."

Sanosuke meet the steely-eyed gaze with his own somber eyes.

"I know, Director. I let my emotions get the better of me."

"I'm glad they did, Sagara. As Kaoru's father, I'm worried about her safety, especially since she's in the hands of the Battousai. But I know that both the training that the NJAAF and I have given her will help her survive. She's smart and resourceful. But I will still continue to deny any requests to retrieve her. Nor will I negotiate any terms of the Battousai's since it's NJAAF policy not to deal with terrorists."

"I'd risk my life for her, Director," the teenager said, clenching his fists. "I request that if the Battousai's personal compound is found, that I be allowed to head the raiding team with Agents Seta, Shinomori, and Makamachi."

"I will consider your request. Fill out all the proper paperwork for it and have it on my desk by the end of the day tomorrow," Kentarou said, back to business. He stood up. "I won't take up any more of your time, Sagara."

"Sir?" Sanosuke began, standing up as well. He hesitated.

"Spit it out. I dislike stalling."

"I wanted to ask your permission to marry Kaoru," he blurted out.

The older man blinked in surprise.

"That was unexpected."

"As you said, I love Kaoru, sir. Deeply and truly. And we make each other happy. So, I ask for your blessing."

"Granted," the man said, turning away. "Good night."

The director walked briskly to the apartment door and shut it behind him decisively. Sanosuke stared at the wooden surface, stunned.

"Thanks," he said belatedly and collapsed into his armchair, releasing the breath of air that he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

The ex-fighter ran his hand through his messy locks as he stared down at the horrible photographs before him. Anger simmered under Sanosuke's breastbone, making his scarred hands tremble. He couldn't believe the state Kaoru was in. He had expected she would look bad, but the NJAAF agent hadn't been expecting the Battousai to taunt them this way. These photos dared the organization to stop the killer.

"Just wait, Battousai," Sanosuke muttered, voice tight with barely contained rage. "I will find you and I will kill you."

o-o-o-o-o

A stray strand of hair tickled Kaoru's nose as she studied the chessboard intently. She tried to ignore the offending lock, but the slight breeze blew more hair into her face. With a sigh, she gathered her thick, dark hair and tied it into a messy bun.

"Make a move already!"

Kaoru raised an eyebrow at her competitor.

"Chess is about strategy, Yahiko," she said patiently. "It's all about seeing twenty-three moves ahead."

"It's a stupid game," the boy muttered under his breath.

"You're just upset because I'm beating you," the NJAAF agent said.

By Yahiko's blush, Kaoru assumed she had guessed correctly.

"I've never liked this game," he said. "I only played because I was bored."

To emphasize his point, he carelessly moved a piece, leaving his queen open. Kaoru took it.

"Check."

Scrambling to save his king, Yahiko hastily moved his bishop. The seventeen-year-old took it and one more later, she captured his king.

"You know, chess _is_ a great teacher," she told the boy. "It teaches you how to plan in advance and see twenty different solutions when some people see just one. Checkmate."

Yahiko gave a frustrated sigh and flicked his king to lie on its side.

"Kamiya is right, Yahiko. Chess will teach you quite a few valuable skills."

Kaoru stiffened in her chair at the sound of the Battousai's voice. She had seen very little of him since she had tried to escape about a month ago. He had relaxed security around her and granted her access to the entire wing of the house where she was staying, including the use of his secondary office. It of course didn't have a telephone or computer, so she had no way of telling anyone where she was.

"Yeah, well, I still think it's stupid," they boy said, vacating his chair. _You_ can play her. I wanna see who would win this."

His brown eyes flicked to Kaoru, who was as still as a statue and glaring at the chessboard with determination. She was going to kill him later. He would have to avoid her wing of the house. Kenshin looked at him.

"Don't you have to help Dr. Gensai?" the killer asked, voice mild.

"Yeah," Yahiko mumbled, kicking at the ground.

"Well then I suggest you find the good doctor before he has to search for you," the Battousai said, voice still pleasant, but authoritative. "She will tell you who wins."

Yahiko glanced at Kaoru, who was barely concealing her rage at her captor.

"Yeaaah, have fun with that," the youth said with a nod, then trotted off.

Kenshin stared at his opponent, gauging her temper. He slowly and meticulously began to reset the board.

"Black or white?" he asked.

She didn't answer.

The crime lord smirked, reaching across the table to grab his captive by the chin. The girl struggled to pull away. He signed almost imperceptibly as he let go.

"It's a simple question, Kamiya," he said. "Black or white?"

"Are we really going to do this?" she asked, staring at the man with piercing eyes.

He blinked at her.

"Why not? I enjoy a game of chess every once in a while."

Kaoru narrowed her eyes at him.

"You know that's not what I mean," she spat. "Are we going to pretend that, all of a sudden, we're best friends? I don't like games and this particular one I hate the most."

"Kamiya, for once, I don't really have ulterior motives," Kenshin said, taking Yahiko's vacated seat. "I enjoy the challenge chess and its various opponents pose. It's like a puzzle that need to be pieced together, one careful movement at a time."

The teenager considered what the man said. It _was_ only one game of chess and it was a whole hell of a lot better than being in the torture room.

"I'll take white," she said, making the first move.

They played intensely for almost two hours, each carefully plotting and planning and revealing more about each other.

Finally, Kaoru threw her hands in the air, frustrated.

"I think we've hit a stalemate," she huffed.

"Possibly. Make a move," Kenshin said politely.

"I've been staring at damn board for almost ten minutes!" the girl said in exasperation. "We've hit a stalemate."

"Humor me," the Battousai said, his golden eyes calculating.

"Fine," she muttered, moving one of her remaining pawns. That's when she saw it. "Shit."

"Check."

Kaoru desperately tried to save her king, but she knew she had lost. She knocked down the finely carved piece.

"Checkmate," she said for her opponent. "I can't believe I didn't see that!"

"As you said, Kamiya. Chess is a game of strategy and of seeing twenty different paths rather than one."

"Hmm," the girl hummed, studying her captor with bright eyes. "True. I haven't been beaten at chess in quite a while."

"It was a good game," the older man said, sticking out his hand for them to shake. "You're a formidable player with no fear and great strategy."

Kaoru stared at his outstretched hand, hesitating. After a few moments, she gripped it firmly and pumped it twice, shocked at the spark of static electricity when their fingers touched. The girl's heart fluttered briefly in her chest.

"Yes, well. Thank you!" she blurted, then scurried away, leaving Kenshin to clean up the chess set.

After pushing past the two guards at the entrance of her wing, she sped down the hall to her bedroom and slammed the door shut. Kaoru leaned against the solid wood, heart pounding wildly. What the hell was wrong with her? The spark startled her and her reaction scared her.

Closing her eyes against the frustrated tears welling in her eyes, the young NJAAF agent slid down the door to sit in front of it. This couldn't be happening. She wasn't supposed to be treated this way. The Battousai was supposed to beat her and threaten her. He was supposed to kill her. Why wasn't she dead?"

Silver tears finally slipped from under he closed lids and the girl began gasping with the force of her emotion. Kaoru managed to crawl over to her bed, tuck herself in, and sob herself to sleep.

o-o-o-o-o

Kenshin quietly made his way to the wing that housed the Kamiya girl. Standing in front of the solid oak door were two of his armed guards, at the ready with their four-legged partners sitting by their sides, ears erect. The two uniformed men nodded at the crime lord. He nodded back and raised a red eyebrow in question.

"She's came flying down the hall from the terrace, Himura-sama," the shorter guard said, adjusting his grip on the semi-automatic rifle. "It was like the Devil hisself was nippin' at her heels. Bat outta Hell she was."

"We had been at the entrance of hall when she rushed in. We immediately took our positions by the door," the other guard said.

"Did she do or say anything?" Kenshin then wondered why he cared.

The taller guard's dark eyes were sad as he nodded. He did like the girl despite her being an NJAAF agent. She was kind.

"The thing cried herself to sleep," he said, looking unhappy. "Sobbing actually."

Kenshin grimaced. Why would the Kamiya brat react like this? He remembered the girl's reaction to their handshake.

"Go back to the hall entrance," the golden-eyed man ordered.

The two men obeyed, knowing better than to question the man that signed their substantial paychecks. They weren't fools and they knew not to look a gift horse in the mouth.

When the guards were at their station, the crime lord quietly opened the door to the girl's bedroom, which he stopped locking after she had attempted to escape.

She must have cried long and hard. Her face was puffy and tear-stained, eyes red-rimmed and swollen, lashes still wet. Her pale long fingers clutched the yellow and white flowered patchwork quilt.

Kenshin sat at the edge of the bed, careful not to disturb the girl. He studied her delicate features, noting the purple bruises under her eyes that indicated lack of sleep. She had a full, sweet mouth, lips naturally deep pink, a straight button nose, and a long, graceful neck.

He found himself thinking that the Kamiya girl was rather pretty. Kenshin froze at his train of thought. He could not be thinking these things. Not about the daughter of Kamiya Kentarou. Not the daughter whose father shattered his world all those years ago.

But it had been so long since he had felt anything. There were whores, but that was for release. No, this was different and Kenshin struggled to put his finger on it. He didn't feel this way with the doctor. While beautiful, the doctor lacked something. She did not have the same fired Kamiya possessed. Didn't have the same strength.

With a trembling hand, the killed smoothed Kaoru's raven locks from her face, brushing his fingertips over her soft, smooth skin. In the past month, he had seen the many reasons why Sagara had fallen in love with her.

Kenshin stood up abruptly, jostling the best and causing Kaoru to stir, but he didn't care. He quickly exited the room and leaned his back against the cool wood. He ran a hand down his sweaty face and squeezed his eyes shut.

"Shit."

**A/N: I'm so proud of myself, getting this all done so fast! I hope you enjoyed it. I've enjoyed writing more in this since it had been forever since I had written anything for it! Please read and review!**


	7. Part VII

**Beginning Note: **I am beyond bewildered that I've been this productive with a story. I'm usually so lazy/super busy! As I said, I'm hoping to have this story done, super soon! I'm thankful for all your support and I'm glad that you're still reading! Please leave me reviews so I know what you're thinking! Thanks!

**Disclaimer:**__I do not own RuroKen. I wish I did, but I don't. Please enjoy the workings of my dark, sordid mind!

**Possession: Part VII**

"The likelihood that Kamiya's still alive is beyond slim, Sagara," the director of the NJAAF told his agent and his team. "I'm reassigning all but Seta to a different task force. You're all too close to this case with Kamiya gone and there's no reason for you all to stay in the Battousai task force."

"But, Director," Sanosuke interjected. "She's still alive. I know it. I _feel_ it."

"Sagara—"

"Sanosuke is right, sir," Aoshi said, placing a file on the glass table top.

Kentarou eyed the folder on the conference room table.

"We would have found Kaoru-san's body delivered to us if she were dead," Soujiro said, smiling at the older man. "It's not the Battousai's style not to brag."

The blue-eyed assassin placed a second file on the table, and Misao placed a third.

The mustached man's eyes narrowed.

"What is all this?"

"Director Kamiya, it's evidence that proves Kaoru's still alive," the girl said.

"I called you in here to reassign you, not look at old case files," he said angrily after flipping open the file Misao had brought.

A crime scene photo of Takani Megumi was clearly visible.

"Sir," Sanosuke said earnestly. "Just look at the files. It shows a pattern a reason why he took her."

"He displayed Megumi on the front steps to gain ammunition," Aoshi said, opening the file Soujiro placed down.

Kentarou's breath hitched slightly when he saw his wife's lifeless eyes staring up at him in a medical examiner's photo.

"His latest victims haven't been at random, sir," the ice-eyed man. "They are directed at someone. And for a specific reason."

Misao slid a small picture from the last file and handed it to her boss.

"This isn't a Battousai victim. It's his girlfriend," the older man said.

"That's where it started, Director," she said, handing him the 8x10 of the girl with her head at an awkward angle. "It starts and ends with you."

"How did you even get these?" Kentarou demanded. "These photos and file on the Yukoshiro girl were classified."

Aoshi shifted and the NJAAF director glared at him.

"The complete Battousai file isn't supposed to leave the UIA's file room, Shinomori," he said, deep voice rumbling dangerously in his chest. "What the hell is a secure file doing in my conference room?"

"It's telling you that your daughter is still alive," Sanosuke said.

Kentarou's piercing eyes, eyes that his daughter inherited, slid to meet the young agent's gaze.

"Director, you know him," Aoshi said, sliding the classified file towards his boss. "You know the reason for his targeting the NJAAF."

"He's clearly baiting you with Kaoru," Misao said earnestly. "He knows that we don't play with terrorists and that you won't play favorites, even with your own flesh and blood."

The NJAAF director sighed and gathered the files that his agents had laid before him.

"I will postpone your transfers for now," he said heavily, looking older. The main agents grinned at each other, please with themselves. "But that doesn't mean you should celebrate just yet. I will look more into the Battousai connection and will brief you when I make my decision."

"Then you may want this, Director," said Misao, pulling a thick courier envelope from the attaché case at her feet.

"What's this?" Kentarou asked suspiciously, confident he knew exactly what it was.

Soujiro grinned at the older man.

"Oh, it's exactly what you think, sir," he said cheerfully. "It's all our research and findings, carefully analyzed by multiple agents. There's a dossier divided into sections for the five of us."

The NJAAF director's face turned red.

"We'll take our leave," Aoshi quickly and the agents swiftly exited the director's private conference room. Sanosuke lingered.

"What, Sagara?" the older man snapped.

"We're on your side, sir," he said, brown eyes softening. "That's why we did most of the work for you."

Before the director could reply, Sanosuke was gone.

Kentarou gave a hefty sigh as he sank into the plush conference room chair. His agents were good people and good at their jobs. All of his top agents, except Kaoru, had originally started doing deeds for the seedier side of Tokyo and Kyoto.

Shinomori Aoshi had started off in Kyoto as the leader of the elite Oniwabanshu, known for their studies of the almost extinct ninja arts. It was almost impossible to pin crimes on the gang. He had left Kyoto and moved to Tokyo, bringing a small contingent of Oniwaban members. They were hired on as body guards for drug lord Takeda Kanryu, but only Aoshi survived the detail after another gang had wiped out Kanryu's operation.

Makamachi Misao was from the same stock as Aoshi, starting off in Kyoto with the Oniwabanshu, born into the gang. Apparently devastated at the loss of Aoshi at a young age, she ran away to Tokyo at thirteen and sustained herself on small time theft. At that point, Aoshi was heavily involved with the Japanese Underground as a mercenary. She heard rumors and found him, but they got caught during a robbery.

The police brought their unusual skills to the attention of the NJAAF and they promptly were offered a job and an expunged record. If they were caught dipping their toes into old waters, they would be thrown straight into jail.

Takani Megumi had been a medical student who got involved with a drug runner. Her ability to eye up ingredients to cook up narcotics like crystal meth and heroin, as well as her access to prescription medication, made her really popular with the drug lords. At one point, she worked for Kanryu and was one of the few cookers that lasted.

Unfortunately for her, her new drug runner boyfriend liked to beat on her and shoot her up to keep her compliant. When her colleagues at the hospital she worked in noticed and asked her about it, she told him them back to back off. She was fired when they caught her stealing Oxycotin and Methadone from the hospital supplies.

She was caught in a drug raid by the NJAAF was after being questioned, was offered a job based on her genius chemistry skills. It appeared that she was only cooking to avoid living on the streets. She got clean and doubled as an expert on drugs and a NJAAF staff position, any record of drug use and subsequent firing, sealed.

Seta Soujiro was an interesting story. Abused severely by his step family after his mother's death when he was three, he was basically a slave for them until he witnessed anarchist and former rebel Shishio Makoto. Shishio, like the Battousai's mentor Hiko, was versed in sword play.

He had been targeted for assassination by the government during a raid, but survived, his whole body sustaining severe burns as well as a gunshot wound to the head. He coerced the then eight-year-old Soujiro into harboring him. The boy's step family found out and went to beat him, where he killed them with the wakazashi Shishio had given him.

After the murders, Soujiro suffered an immense psychotic break, causing him to lock all his emotions away, making him the perfect tool. Taking advantage of the situation, Shishio took him under his wing. He schooled the boy in sword play and anarchism, building up the anti-government group, the Juppongatana. Soujiro was used to assassinate several key political figures throughout Japan to begin the Juppongatana's government takeover. It failed after the main operatives were incarcerated and Shishio was killed.

During the chaos that had surrounded the issue, the boy had disappeared from Kyoto and resurfaced in Tokyo. He dabbled a little in the Underground, but requested a meeting with the director of NJAAF and was hired the next week for the Special Operational Forces for his unique assassination skills, similar to that of the Battousai.

Sagara Sanosuke was another story entirely. He and Kaoru had been friends since they had the same baby sitter. Both of his parents died in a drunk driving accident when he was six and having no extended family, Sanosuke spent several years with the Kamiya family. He started young in the NJAAF like Kaoru had, but quit after three years, unable to play by the rules.

The break resulted in him disappearing from the Kamiya household and living on the streets, being jumped into the Sekihoutai gang. He quickly became known as Zanza and made good money as a fighter for hire, even at a young age. After five years in the illegal fight pits, Kaoru finally caught up with him. The petite pre-teen had marched into a locker room filled with two hundred plus pound, mostly naked men and slapped Sanosuke hard, demanding that he come home and not be a petty criminal.

After six months of persuading, he finally caved and moved closer to the NJAAF headquarters and Kaoru's family and rejoined NJAAF. His switch from illegal fighter and criminal to NJAAF agent prompted a swift response by the Sekihoutai, but was negotiated by Kentaoru himself. Half of the Sekihoutai gang defected to the NJAAF; almost all of them perfect field agents.

Kentarou groaned as he felt a dull ache form behind his eyes after he assessed his top agents. Rubbing his hand down his face, he sat back in the conference room chair and began flipping through the files the agents had bombarded him with. He wouldn't look at the team's research and dossier until he looked the direct evidence himself.

He remembered the night the Battousai's fiancée had died. Despite looking like a demure girl, she had been spitting angry curses at him while he was interrogating her. It wasn't uncommon to use violence to get answers during the rebellions. The NJAAF director wasn't proud of it, but he did what he had to do. Killing the Yukoshiro girl had been an accident. He hadn't meant to hit her so hard, but she was unyielding and loyal to the Battousai. After that incident, he took a back seat in the organization, no longer participating in raids.

The older man's heart broke as he picked up the photo of his late wife. Kentarou had fallen in love with her right away. Hinako had been beautiful, smart, and refused to take anything from anyone. Her determination made her a rising star at the NJAAF.

Kaoru's father reminisced, thinking about the first day he had met the fresh-faced recruit. The girl was a striking eighteen-year-old with thick, long black hair, tightly braided and deep blue eyes that peered out from behind no nonsense glasses. A large Akita sat at her high heeled feet.

"Dogs aren't permitted in the building unless they are service dogs or part of our K-9 unit. Civilians are not allowed to keep pets in here," Kentarou had told her.

Hinako started at him icily. The Akita began to growl and she placed a demure hand on its head to quiet it.

"I'm aware of NJAAF's policy," she said, making no move to leave.

"Then you'll understand I have to ask you to exit the building."

The teenager smirked at the older man.

"As the director of the National Japanese Allied Armed Forces, you have terrible facial recognition," she informed him.

"Excuse me?" sputtered the then thirty-year-old Kentarou.

"Sir, this is Ihara Hinako," his assistant whispered. "She's the new agent in the IF's K-9 unit."

"_That's_ Ihara!" the director said, disbelievingly. "A brand new agent is being assigned to the IF? I thought Ihara was a senior agent from Hawaii."

"No, new recruit from by Kotagahama Beach," Hinako said, sticking out her hand. "I lived in Hawaii until recently. I was top of my class for training and gave the speech at graduation. You were there and congratulated me."

"I apologized," Kentarou said, shaking the young woman's hand firmly. "I'm just shocked you're so young. Most of our IF agents are senior agents or transfers from agencies like MI-5, the FBI, and the CIA."

"I understand that, sir. I had perfect scores on everything. The K-9 unit is the best fir," Hinako said, scratching her dog's ears affectionately. "My father breeds the top Akitas in the world. All of them are descended from Sawatashi Morie's dogs."

"The Dog Man?"

"The very same," the girl said with a smile. "I've been around dogs my entire life and have trained then for almost just as long."

Kentarou returned the smile warmly.

"Well, then, welcome aboard, Ihara," he said. "I'm impressed already and you haven't even officially started working." The girl giggled flirtatiously, peaking the NJAAF director's interest. "Let me show you around and you can meet your coworkers."

As they made their way to the side of the building that housed the Investigative Force, Kentarou discreetly studied the girl that would one day become his wife. She had a determined set to her jaw, ready to take on anyone who said that she couldn't hack it in the IF, the NJAAF's most competitive department and one of the riskiest. He had more agents killed from the IF than field agents or spies because of the nature of the sensitive information that they had access to and the danger that went with it.

He couldn't understand what had attracted such a young and beautiful young woman, girl really, to such a dangerous job. But he always had been attracted to risk takers since he himself was one.

"So how does a girl from outside Kotagahama want to do this?" he asked, gesturing to the IF cubicles that were surrounding them now.

Hinako's face darkened.

"The rebellions tore my family apart," she said softly, her dog leaning against her leg as he sensed her distress. "My father's a pacifist, so he's content to just breed his dogs. But my brothers, they're more high strung and idealistic. They fancy themselves patriots."

She turned to face Kentarou, a guarded look in her eyes.

"Some of my brothers are part of the rebels," she confessed. "Not all of them. Some of them are comfortable with the current government or just have big mouths."

The NJAAF director regarded the girl carefully. Talk about risk. Not only did she have family that were part of the rebellions, and not in a good way, she had joined the one organization that would one day pit her against her rebel brothers, forcing her to choose.

"Ihara, as long as you have no intention of becoming a rebel, it's fine," he said kindly, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You can't control the actions of your brothers, just your own."

Hinako smiled at the older man, grateful for his understanding.

"I won't let you down, sir," she promised.

And she kept her promise. Ihara Hinako rose to the top of the NJAAF with alarming speed, winning over her co-workers and Kentarou with every sweet smile and every person she managed to put away. The IF's percentage of cases being successfully closed skyrocketed and the NJAAF became an example to all international organizations.

Not too long after her hiring, Kentarou and Hinako fell into something that went beyond friendship and beyond love. It was a trust in each other that no one could even begin to describe. It was an unspoken understanding that they would lay down their lives for each other, something that was extremely probable for their profession.

They married four years later in 2016 when Kentarou was thirty-four and Hinako was twenty-two. They welcomed baby Kaoru into the world on June 18, 2018. Ten years later, everything fell apart when Hinako was found dead in a parking lot, car keys still gripped in her cold, stiff hands, groceries strewn around her. That night, something in Kentarou died with Hinako, and he became a different man towards everyone, even his young daughter who thirsted for revenge against the young man known only to her as Battousai.

That one act of revenge by Battousai set the whole game in motion, forever sealing the fates of all those involved. For revenge is always the ultimate victory as well as the ultimate downfall of humanity.

**A/N: Sawatashi Morie, a.k.a the Dog Man, is actually a real person. After WWII, Akitas were nearly extinct and he helped saved the breed. There is a fantastic book called **_**Dog Man**_** by Martha Sherrill. It was interesting. And Kotagahama Beach is also a real place. The sand sings, squeaks actually, when you walk on it. I learned about it years ago when I was reading a manga called **_**Sand Chronicles**_**. I wish sand in the States sang. All ours does is burn our feet… Anyway. Enough tangents. I hope you enjoyed the latest installment. Now I actually have to start writing again since I've caught up on all I've written. Please read and review!**


	8. Part VIII

**Beginning Note:** We are getting the end of our story. I hope you're all as sad as I am about it. This story has been with me since I was a freshman in college and I'm now two years out of school. That's six years. Every story is a milestone and it's always sad when you're ending one. Please enjoy!

**Disclaimer:**I do not own RuroKen. I wish I did, but I don't. Please enjoy the workings of my dark, sordid mind!

**WARNING: While I've never truly written a lemon, this chapter has some, ahem, situations that may make you sweaty and possibly fangirl/fanboy. There is a sex scene in here and while it is very veiled because I myself sometimes I have issues writing these kinds of scenes, I am warning people ahead of time so I don't get complaints later. (Actually, I hope I get a lot of squeeing and fangirling.) Enjoy.**

**Possession: Part VIII**

Days folded into weeks, the weeks slid into months, and Kaoru's days fell into pattern. Every morning, Yahiko would bang on her door, demand that she wake up, and escort her to breakfast with Kenshin where he would interrogate her until she grew frustrated and ignored him. The killer would keep the girl close to keep her from becoming too curious about the complex.

But as the days carried out, the NJAAF agent found herself becoming comfortable. She bantered with Yahiko during their daily chess game, taught Tsubame self-defense, and helped Dr. Gensai in the medical wing. She even found herself spending more time with the crime lord, slowly learning little things about him. She often spent the nights talking with the older man, being gently drawn into his orbit.

"Have you ever heard that 'the meek will inherit the earth?'" the redhead asked the young woman lounging beside him on the wall.

"Psalms 25:8," Kaoru said, not even glancing at the former assassin.

"Well, it was worth a try," Kenshin said with a small shrug and suppressed grin.

"You should know better," she said with a slight smile. "I read, and I read a lot."

Kenshin let out a chuckle,

"You do know your literature," he acknowledged.

The girl turned to face her captor and stared at his profile. The man's strong jaw, bristled with dark auburn stubble, the faint knife scars from past nights and reminders of his past life. His straight nose and his intense eyes. There was just something about the killer that drew her in and that scared her, but she refused to show it.

"Why do you ask?"

"Because I wish to change that. The strong and the brave are the ones who will truly inherit because they are the ones who will make a change in the world."

Kaoru stared at the older man in shock.

"What?"

Kenshin gazed at the NJAAF agent, amber eyes blazing.

"People cannot expect to saved every time. The weak will be the end of the earth."

"The weak are why I keep fighting," she said, now fully facing Kenshin. "Because the weak need a voice."

"There are those that can change their lot yet they do nothing."

"And there are those who cannot and they are the ones I fight for," Kaoru shot back. "It's why we all fight. Me, Aoshi, Misao, Sanosuke."

Her voice caught in her throat at the mention of her boyfriend. God, she missed him so much, and she was so ashamed of her growing attraction to the other man.

"Your passion is inspiring," Kenshin said, his liquid fire eyes caressing the girl's face. He stepped closer, unable to stop himself. "Tell me, Kamiya. What else are you passionate about?"

Kaoru stared at him, flustered. His close proximity frightened and thrilled her. If the game they had been playing before was dangerous, it was even more so now. The two of them had been straddling the line between flirtation and sexual frustration for several weeks. Ever since the chess game.

"I'm passionate about many things," she said evasively, mouth dry. This was suddenly an uncomfortable conversation.

The teenager suddenly realized how intimate they looked on the balcony of his private study at night, her in a thin white dress that floated in the warm autumn breeze. She shivered at this thought crossed her mind and wrapped her arms around herself as if she were cold.

"Hmm, I see," Kenshin said, turning towards the open French doors. "Cold? Let's go inside."

The raven-haired NJAAF agent followed the killer into his study and breathed a sigh of relief. There was now at least some distance between them. But when she turned around, Kenshin was staring at her with an intensity that she had seen in Sanosuke at times.

"Why have you been avoiding me, Kamiya?"

Kaoru blinked in surprise. This hadn't been the question she had expected.

"I haven't been avoiding you," she snapped, going on the defensive. "I let you natter away at me all day, asking questions that you know I'll never give you the answers to."

"And I never expect them, even if I were to torture you," Kenshin said, so casually that the girl flinched at the memory. "No. I mean right now."

"I'm right here. That hardly counts as avoidance," Kaoru said with a scowl.

"You may be here, but you are not all here. You have been holding back. Hesitant."

Blue eyes narrowed in annoyance.

"I figured I'd keep the hostility to a minimum. It's exhausting."

Kenshin took several slow steps toward the stone-still girl and heard her sharp intake of breath as he stopped less than a foot away. He felt the heat of her body and could feel himself reacting to it.

"Your hostility and anger are what make you so beautiful," the crime lord whispered. "It's like trying to hold fire in your bare hands. You know it will burn, yet you can't help but touch it."

He reached out with calloused hands to slide through the silk of Kaoru's hair. It slipped between his fingers, cool and smooth, and Kenshin relished the feeling. The NJAAF agent's breath sped up as the sensations of his fingers in her hair sent tingles down to her toes.

"So tell me, Kaoru," the man said, using the young agent's name for the first time since he kidnapped her almost three months ago. "Will you get burned?"

The former assassin stepped even closer to the girl until there were less than three inches separating them. His golden eyes held his captive's deep blue ones, keeping her entranced while his other hand settled on her slim hip. Kaoru's breath hitched slightly and she swayed slightly, grabbing onto Kenshin for balance without realizing it. It only took that brief moment of touch for him to become lost.

His fingers twisted in her dark tresses as he crushed her body to his and placed his hot, hungry lips over hers, eagerly tasting her.

And he was ready for the slap the fiery girl gave him after she pushed him away.

"Ho—how dare you!" she whispered angrily, a hot red blush staining her cheeks and the twin emotions of anger and desire coursing through her.

Kenshin barely stifled a feral, wolf-like grin.

"I asked you if you were ready to burn," he said, pushing her up against the wall, keeping her trapped between the elegant wall paper and his rock solid body. He leaned in.

"And I believe you are," he said against her lips before recapturing them with his own.

Kaoru struggled against him, making the crime lord's body respond even more, before melting into his embrace and wrapping her pale arms around him. They pulled apart, both gasping at the intensity of the kiss. There was something in that kiss, a desperation, that made the two of them respond to each other.

"I—" Kaoru tried to begin, but was cut off.

"Shh," he said harshly before gripping her tightly and placed a bruising kiss atop her lips.

Kaoru moaned into his lips as his strong hands explored her now sensitive, aching body. Her own hands roamed, caressing his hard, wiry muscles and ghosting over a now extremely apparent indication that the killer wanted her. The minute her delicate fingers brushed the ridge in Kenshin's pants, he groaned and hoisted Kaoru up so her legs were firmly wrapped around his torso, his hands cupping her buttocks.

"Kaoru," he murmured hoarsely, fingers sliding over the fabric that encased her tender and burning skin.

He nipped at her collarbone and she gasped loudly, digging her nails into the muscles of his shoulder. He relished the feel as she gripped his flesh with desperate hands. Kaoru pushed herself closer to him, causing the killer to shudder with desire. She was driving him crazy.

"Tell me what you want, Kaoru," he said in a low, seductive voice.

The teenager could only breathe heavily as his lips assaulted her neck.

"Tell me!" he growled, insistent.

"Ahh, you!" she managed to choke out.

"What? I couldn't hear that, Kaoru," the older man taunted.

"You!" she cried, lost in the lust and passion of the moment. "This. Everything."

With the girl still wrapped around his waist, Kenshin stumbled his way into his bedroom, connected to the study. He kicked the door closed behind him and made his way to the bed, where he lay down his captive. The NJAAF agent was flushed and her chest heaved in anticipation. Sweat beaded her brow and he felt it sliding down his own face. She stared up at him with entrancing azure eyes. God, how he loved the fire in them.

He was pleasantly surprised when the teen reached up and fisted her hand in his dress shirt, pulling him down on her. Kenshin settled his weight on his elbows as he ravished her face, neck, and chest with kisses. He suppressed a grin as she cried out when his mouth moved to her breasts, coaxing through the thin, white fabric. She grew bolder, hands stroking him through his jeans and he hissed in yearning.

Standing up, he pulled off his shirt and stepped out of his jeans, clad only in a pair of tight fitting boxer briefs. His beauty took the girl's breath away. His body was pure muscle and a patchwork of scars, byproducts of being an assassin and studying the art of swordsmanship. He was leaner than Sanosuke, but still had a body to die for.

Kaoru felt a twinge of guilt for her actions. She was still madly in love with Sanosuke, but her desire and need pushed her on, goading her into wanting something that she knew would never last.

"Beautiful," she whispered then blushed fiercely at her choice of words.

"No need to be embarrassed," Kenshin murmured quietly, lips brushing her ear and his fingers teasing her. "Though I think that word describes you a little better."

"I'm not beautiful."

"Oh, but you are, Kaoru. More beautiful than you can imagine. And I'm going to show you," the former assassin said, slipping the thin dress over the girl's head and tossing it to the side.

Kenshin drank in the sight of her body, its sensual curves and planes. His nimble fingers traced her panty line, causing the NJAAF agent to shiver in delight. While Kaoru and Sanosuke knew every inch of each other, they weren't always this observant because they had been together for so long. They already had each other memorized.

The girl couldn't believe the way the crime lord's eyes devoured her hungrily. Like he needed to taste every inch of her skin. To possess it. With shaking fingers, she traced the outline of his jaw and Kenshin closed his eyes in pleasure. Her other hand wandered down his chest and further, brushing against the most sensitive place on him currently. He sucked in his breath through his teeth as the weapons specialist teased him. She yelped as he grabbed fist full of her hair and wrenched her head back, exposing her neck to him once again.

"You play dirty," he said, voice ragged with restraint.

"I only play as dirty as my opponent," she shot back, a small grin gracing her kiss-swollen lips.

"This is a game you don't want to play," Kenshin said and swiftly removed the girl's bra and ran a thumb over her nipple. He was pleased at her reaction, how she arched her body towards him, begging him to touch her. He repeated the action on her other nipple.

Kaoru let out a low moan that excited the killer. His body tightened in response to her primal instincts. The blatant need she displayed. Frustrated with the older man's teasing, the NJAAF agent decided to do some teasing of her own. She raised herself on her elbows and licked the shell of the man's ear. Catching him off guard, she managed to flatten him on his back where she straddled him, where he hit in the right spot, taking her breath away for a moment. She moved gently against him and smiled cruelly as he growled deep in his throat. Good. She was going to make him suffer.

She moved against him again and he let out a guttural sound that delighted her and set her nerves on fire.

"Dangerous game, Kaoru…" he breathed.

The girl didn't say anything, just lowered herself down to kiss him through the fabric of his underwear. He twitched and Kenshin grabbed her hair. Her fingers hooked around the elastic waistband and she began to ease the offending fabric off. She nodded in appreciation and ran a finger down the length.

Unable to take anymore, the crime lord grabbed the girl and pulled her onto the bed under him. He kissed her fiercely as he ripped her panties away.

"Are you sure?" he whispered, trembling at the effort of holding back. He was right at the gate, pulsing to get in.

"Yes," Kaoru whimpered in anticipation.

With that one simple word, Kenshin plunged, entering the girl fully. He gasped at the sensation, at the feel of her around him. It was bliss. He moved wildly, the NJAAF agent moving to meet him.

"Oh, God. Kenshin!"

At that utterance, the killer smiled. It was the first time she had used his name. Now he would possess her in every way possible.

o-o-o-o-o

A low, insistent knocking woke Kenshin out of the light sleep he was in. He carefully extracted himself from Kaoru's embrace and quickly threw on a gray t-shirt and a pair of jeans, tying his unruly red hair into a quick ponytail before opening the door. One of his agents stood there looking nervous. The thug's eyes widened as he caught sight of the peacefully sleeping yet disheveled Kaoru in his employer's bed.

The older man narrowed his eyes at the thug and the young man quickly averted his gaze. What his employer did with his playthings was none of his business.

"What?" Kenshin asked harshly, longing to get back into bed besides the girl. "Make it quick."

"Y-yes, sir," the other man stammered. "Captain Sakamoto wanted me to tell you that the NJAAF intercepted another arms shipment as well as shut down another two of our major drug production labs. Captains Kobayashi and Inoue have gone missing and are presumed to be dead and Captains Takahashi and Fukamori were found dead in their apartments in Tokyo earlier tonight."

The killer was still as he absorbed the news. That damn Kamiya was going to ruin his operation completely. While he may have lost the battle for right now, he was going to win the war. It was inconvenient that he would have to find more captains to run his operation especially after he just replaced the other five that the NJAAF's Special Operational Forces killed. He knew Seta's work from the boy's time with Shishio.

"Thank you," he said to the other man, dismissing him. The thug fled gratefully.

The former assassin shut the door slowly, thinking. There had to be a way to get the director of NJAAF off his back for a least a little while. As much as Kenshin hated to waste time, energy, and resources, the easiest way to throw the international organization off his tracks was to send out a decoy or several for that matter. As long as Kenshin had them running in circles and chasing their tails for a couple of weeks, he would be content. It would give him the time he needed to find new captains and reestablish his drug production.

His eyes drifted back to Kaoru sleeping soundly in his plush bed. She was collateral. She was his leverage with the older Kamiya. As much as the old man didn't like to admit it, if pushed, he would bend rules to save his only daughter, his only child. Despite the strange feeling of guilt pooling in his stomach at using the girl as a bargaining chip, he would do it.

Kenshin pulled off his clothes and settled back into bed next to Kaoru, who snuggled closer. His intense eyes traced her features, ones that he had come to know so well. The man reached out to touch her face, but clenched his hand into a fist instead.

"Dammit," he cursed, falling back onto the pillows.

He gently traced the girl's cheeks before pulling her close and placing a soft kiss at the nape of her neck. The NJAAF agent smiled, and wrapped her arms around the former assassin. He placed his cheek against her hair and began to hope. Hope for something that would send both of them down in flames.

o-o-o-o-o

"We've taken out four of his captains in the past week. He just replaced the last people we killed. Not only that, two of his major drug labs were shut down. All of his cookers and dealers, jailed."

Sanosuke grinned at the young assassin of the SOF and the boy smiled back politely.

"That's fantastic, Seta!" the tan agent exclaimed. "We'll corner that bastard and when we do, he'll make a mistake. That's when we'll get him. That's when we'll get Kaoru back."

"Sagara-san, are you sure that Kaoru-san is still alive?" Soujiro asked hesitantly. "It's been almost three months."

The taller man's grin faded into a scowl and he glared at the other agent.

"Of course Kaoru is alive!" he said angrily. "You said so yourself. If she wasn't alive we would have seen her body displayed somewhere. It isn't like the Battousai not to brag about what he's done."

"I know that, but Saito has a theory that the Battousai may be playing—"

"I don't give a shit what the Wolf thinks!" Sanosuke burst out. "I would know if she were dead! I'd feel it."

The younger man gave his friend a look of pity.

"I'm sorry, Sagara-san. I haven't lost faith that Kaoru-san is alive, but under the circumstances, I can see where many people would think otherwise."

"Well to hell with everyone else," the teenager spat. "If I have to find her myself, I will."

"No one's expecting you to," Soujiro said softly. "We haven't lost faith. Makamachi-san, Shinamori-san, me. Everyone else has. They are pursuing the Battousai because of who he is, not who he took. Even Director Kamiya knows that."

Sanosuke ignored him and shuffled the folders on his desk into a pile. The assassin sighed. There was no getting through to the ex-fighter when he was in a mood. He would have to do it another time.

"I'll keep you updated," he said to the other agent. "The noose is getting tighter. We'll catch him and we'll find her."

He shut the door behind him and Sanosuke collapsed into his desk chair. The waiting, the not knowing, the doubt. It was all grating on his nerves. He couldn't sleep at night, but he was scared of delving into the bottle again. He saw how self-destructive he could become and it wasn't a pretty picture. Living on the streets had shown him what addiction and self-destructive behavior could do to a person.

He wouldn't admit it to anyone but himself, but he too was losing faith at finding Kaoru alive, if they found her at all. And that thought broke his heart and his spirit. Sanosuke looked up as a secretary opened door, a Fed-Ex World envelope in her hand.

"Sagara-san? This just came for you," she said, handing it to him.

"Uh, thanks," the teenager said slowly, taking it from her.

After she left, he ripped it open and dumped the contents onto his desk. A burned DVD in a case and a small bag fell out. Sanosuke picked up the bag and felt his heart leap into his throat. It was the ring he had bought for Kaoru when they were in Hawaii.

Just as he put the DVD into his computer, his phone rang.

"What?" he snapped.

"Well, hello, Sagara. It's nice to finally hear your voice," came the silky reply on the other end.

The NJAAF agent froze.

"I can imagine that you just received my package. I hope you liked my gifts. I don't think Kaoru realizes that she even still had her ring after she was taken."

"Listen here, you sick fuck—"

"No. You listen to me," the cold voice said. "This is my game, so we play by my rules. Watch the DVD."

Fuming, the NJAAF agent turned his eyes to his computer screen and was horrified at what he saw. It was Kaoru, chained to a wall, struggling against the thick iron. She was in the same room that the photographs Director Kamiya had shown him all those months ago. Another figure walked into the picture and Sanosuke saw hair as red as fire.

So this was the Battousai… Sano wished he could see his face. To see what he looked like when he worked. His file picture just made him look like a harmless school boy. The demon placed his sword against the girl's neck and the teenager watching couldn't help but feel pride at the venom in Kaoru's stare. That was the girl he had fallen in love with.

"Now that I have your complete attention, I want you to listen to carefully," the Battousai said. "You will show this to Kamiya Kentarou and you will tell him to back off. If he does not, he will find the body of his daughter displayed in the NJAAF's lobby fountain."

"You know as well as I that Director Kamiya doesn't negotiate," Sano said, feeling sick to his stomach.

"Well then you're out of luck, aren't you?" the killer asked sweetly.

The teenager saw his vision go red in anger before he replied.

"Now you listen to me, you son of a bitch. I will find you. And when I do, I _will_ kill you."

The Battousai just laughed and hung up, leaving Sanosuke listening to a dial tone.

"I'm coming, Kaoru. I promise."

**A/N: Oooooh, such intrigue! Lust, revenge! What story is complete without them? Well I hope you all enjoyed another chapter of **_**Possession**_**. As I've been saying, we are slowly but surely coming to a close. The plot is thickening more. There will be a lot of time skipping around. If you noticed, time jumped from a month after Kaoru is taken to three months. I will provide more background information on Kenshin in the next chapter. My boy needs some love. And why shouldn't Kaoru and Kenshin have a heart to heart considering he already knows a butt load about her! Please read and review! Thanks!**


End file.
